Hours after Congressional leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Narendra Modi-led government claiming it had ceded the country’s territory to China, the Defense Ministry claimed on Friday that India has not ceded any territory as a result of the finalized agreement with Beijing for troop withdrawal from Pangong Lake areas in eastern Ladakh.
“The claim that the Indian Territory is up to finger 4 is categorically false. The territory of India is as shown on the map of India and includes more than 43,000 square kilometers currently under illegal occupation by China since 1962, “the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“Even the actual Line of Control (LAC), according to the Indian perception, is on finger 8, not on 4. That is why India has persistently maintained the right to patrol up to finger 8, even in the current agreement with China. The permanent posts on both sides on the north shore of Pangong Tso are old and well established, ”he added.
The armies of India and China withdrew their military tanks from the Pangong Tso region. (Source: Army of India)
“On the contrary, it has strengthened observance and respect for LAC and has prevented any unilateral change in the status quo,” he further said.
Hours earlier, Gandhi had questioned the government about its agreement with China on the withdrawal of troops in eastern Ladakh. “Why did you ask the defense minister to make the statement? The prime minister should say: I have given Indian land to China, this is the truth, “he alleged.
He said that it has emerged that Indian troops will now be stationed at Finger 3 on Pangong Tso Lake. “Finger-4 is our territory, that’s where our post used to be. So now we have moved from finger 4 to finger 3. Why did Prime Minister Modi cede Indian territory to the Chinese? This is the question that must be answered by him and by the Defense Minister, ”Gandhi said.
“PM is a coward who cannot stand up to the Chinese. You are betraying the sacrifice of our army. Nobody in India should be able to do it, ”he said.
The Wayanad deputy further asked why the Indian troops were asked to back down after the hard work they had done in capturing the Kailash ranks.
Gandhi’s attack on the Modi government came a day after Defense Minister Rajnath Singh shared with Parliament the details of the pact to defuse the tense military standoff in eastern Ladakh that severely strained ties between the two. Asian giants.
In the Chamber, Singh also mentioned that there are still some pending issues regarding the deployment of the Royal Line of Control (LAC) in the region, which will be taken up in future talks.
As part of the process, Chinese troops will withdraw from Finger 4 east of Finger 8 on the north bank of Pangong: they had reached 8 km west of Finger 8, which according to India marks LAC. Indian troops will be stationed at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3. At the moment, the section that separates them will be an area without patrolling.
The border clash between the Indian and Chinese armies erupted on May 5 after a violent clash in the Pangong Lake areas and escalated after the Galwan incident, in which 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers lost their lifetime. Subsequently, both sides enhanced their deployment by sending tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry, even as the two sides continued military and diplomatic talks.
.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.