New Delhi: A day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang, the Congress Friday attacked the government over the border standoff and alleged that a red carpet was rolled out for the minister instead of being shown “red eyes”.
Congress media department and publicity head Pawan Khera said Jaishankar shook hands with the visiting Chinese foreign minister and reportedly discussed the “abnormal” current state of relations with China and the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Khera cited Jaishankar’s recent reported remarks on China and it being a bigger economy to attack the government.
“The Chinese foreign minister was on Indian Soil, the Modi government’s external affairs minister was discussing the Line of Actual Control (LAC), but they cannot discuss the same issue in Parliament and take the people of India into confidence,” Khera said.
A red carpet was rolled out for the minister instead of being shown “red eyes”, he said.
“There is no change in status quo ante even after almost three years of the Galwan clash,” the Congress spokesperson alleged at a press conference at the AICC headquarters.
He alleged that India “lost access to 26 out of 65 Patrolling Points” which was not the case before May 2020, and questioned the Modi government’s “silence” on the issue.
Chinese build-up in Doklam up to the Jampheri Ridge is threatening India’s strategic “Siliguri Corridor” – the gateway to Northeastern states – Khera claimed.
He alleged that the BJP is celebrating its electoral performance in three northeastern states but does not mind “giving up the Northeast”.
Posing questions to the Modi government, Khera asked whether it is true that the talks with the Chinese foreign minister have been “virtually inconclusive” as far the illegal Chinese occupation at the LAC and our borders is concerned.
“Is it true that 17 rounds of military talks have also taken place on the LAC, and there is yet another 18th one proposed at an earlier day. How is Modi Govt putting across the argument of India’s territorial integrity, especially in the backdrop of EAM’s latest assertion of China being a ‘bigger economic power’? Let this be very clear, that the Congress party stands solidly behind India’s national interests and urge the Modi government to strongly raise the border issue with China,” Khera said in a statement.
“Indian National Congress salutes the sacrifice and courage our of soldiers. We are indebted to their families. We want the LAC issue to be resolved in a transparent and expedient manner. If Modi government has an iota of national interests ingrained in its DNA, it shall never let go off the sacrifice of our bravehearts who made the supreme sacrifice fighting the Chinese at Galwan,” he said.
The Congress’ attack on the government came a day after Jaishankar conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Qin at a meeting that the state of India-China relations is “abnormal” as their talks focused on addressing the challenges in bilateral ties, especially that of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Jaishankar’s first in-person meeting with Qin came on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers conclave amid the over 34-month-long border row in eastern Ladakh. Qin took charge as Chinese foreign minister in December, succeeding Wang Yi.
“It’s our first meeting after he took over as foreign minister. We spent maybe about 45 minutes talking to each other and the bulk of our conversation, understandably, was about the current state of our relationship, which many of you have heard me describe as abnormal,” Jaishankar told reporters.
“And those were among the adjectives that I used in that meeting. There are real problems in that relationship that need to be looked at, that need to be discussed very openly and candidly between us,” he had said.
PTI