From Pangong Tso, Rahul drums LAC tension with China for 2024 LS poll
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, August 20: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi countered the claims made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement in an address to the nation that not an inch of land was occupied by China in the wake of 2020 Galwan violent skirmish. Ringing that he is aiming to test Modi on China tension over the border row, Gandhi visited the higher altitudes of Pangong Tso lake areas on Sunday.
“The statement made by the prime minister that not an inch of land was occupied by China is blatantly false. You can ask the people here. The people here say that China has grabbed our grazing land. The locals here cannot access the grazing land,” said Gandhi.
The Congress has been regularly raking up the issue of China allegedly grabbing land in eastern Ladakh. The 19th military commanders’ level talks were heled recently which ended in no forward movement with the joint statement issued by the two sides claimed that discussions were “constructive and positive” under the overall guidance of the political leadership of the two countries.
Reports have claimed that the Indian army is insisting on patrolling rights in the areas of Depsang and Demchok, which is being resisted by the Chinese side. Also, the Indian Air Force has reportedly air-lifted over 60,000 personnel to the eastern Ladakh front, while an exceedingly large deployment has been made by China also. While the Congress is seeking to test the muscular nationalism of BJP in the Assembly elections later this year and the 2024 general elections, China Daily, supposedly a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in an opinion piece had claimed that Modi have to pay a political price for border tension with China.
Meanwhile, Gandhi told the reporters in Ladakh that he came to visit the region as the plan during the Bharat Jodi Yatra could not be executed. “I was supposed to come here during Bharat Jodo Yatra. So, I thought of coming here for an extensive tour to speak to the people about their issues,” Gandhi told reporters.
Congress MP in the Lok Sabha Manish Tewari had also raised the issue of the alleged land grabbing by China in eastern Ladakh and the inability of the armed forces to patrol certain areas before the 2020 Galwan clash during debate on the no-confidence motion.
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