(TibetanReview.net, Apr15’24) —The BJP government of India has reiterated its position Apr 12 that China has not occupied any Indian land, but that it has raised tension by bringing its troops to the upper part of the mountainous areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in occupied Tibet. However, the opposition Congress has strongly challenged this assertion, made Apr 12 by External Affairs Minister EAM Jaishankar and before that by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on different occasions.
“China has not occupied any of our land. China has tried to bring its troops to the upper part of the mountainous areas along the LAC but the Indian Army also responded to it in the same manner. The situation is competitive, sensitive and challenging,” the indianexpress.com Apr 13 quoted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as saying.
Speaking to mediapersons in Pune in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, Jaishankar has pointed out that the two countries never had troops on the LAC with both the armies deployed away from it on their respective sides.
“In 2020, China brought its troops forward in some places. In response, we also advanced our units and a standoff ensued. After that, the two armies continue to battle for supremacy… but there is no encroachment,” he has sought to explain.
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Jaishankar’s remarks came a day after NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should answer what steps the government was taking on the “encroachment by China”.
However, following Jaishankar’s remarks, the Congress party on Apr 13 claimed the government has been “raining clean chits on China”. It alleged that his statements had been “orchestrated by ‘Super Sutradhar’ (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) himself”, reported the deccanherald.com Apr 13.
The report cited the grand old party of Indian politics as saying the latest statement by Jaishankar and previous ones by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were not only a “profound insult to our fallen soldiers in Galwan” but also “represent the legitimisation” of Chinese claims over thousands of square kilometres of land to which Indian troops had access until May 2020.
“For four years, the Modi government has tried to cover up the worst territorial setback in six decades for India with its DDLJ approach: Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify. Jaishankar’s latest statement only highlights the extent of the Modi government’s submission to Chinese aggression,” the report quoted Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh as saying.
He has said Jaishankar’s recent statement claiming that ‘China has not occupied any of our land’ represented a “renewed setback” to India’s position on its northern border, rivalled only by the Prime Minister’s statement that “no Chinese soldier has entered India”.
“The Modi government has been raining clean chits on China for its aggression against India. After the Prime Minister’s public clean chit on 19 June 2020 and the Home Minister’s clean chit on 9 Apr 2024 comes a third clean chit…Clearly, this is all orchestrated by the Super Sutradhar himself,” Ramesh has said.
He has maintained that Jaishankar’s remarks in particular “represent an acceptance” of Chinese control over Demchok and the strategic Depsang Plains where Chinese troops continue to block Indian soldiers at the critical Y-Junction, preventing them from accessing Patrol Points 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13.
“Chinese troops remain in place despite 21 rounds of military talks over four years. Where withdrawals have been negotiated, the Modi government has accepted buffer zones that lie predominantly in areas that Indian troops once freely accessed,” Ramesh has said.
Also, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Apr 13 accused the Modi government of granting double ‘clean chits’ to expansionist China, reported newindianexpress.com Apr 14.