India’s national security and territorial integrity are non-negotiable and the Prime Minister must defend the nation, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said on Friday even as his party questioned the ‘silence’ of the government over reports that China is building a second bridge over the Pangong Tso (lake) in eastern Ladakh.
“China builds first bridge on Pangong. GOI: We are monitoring the situation. China builds second bridge on Pangong. GOI: We are monitoring the situation. India’s national security and territorial integrity is non-negotiable. A timid and docile response won’t do. PM must defend the nation,” he tweeted.
His tweet came a day after the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it had taken note of China constructing the second bridge in an area held by it around the strategic Pangong Tso.
Amid a continuing stand-off between the Indian and Chinese troops at several points on the Ladakh border in the past two years, strategic experts claim that the new bridge could make the Chinese military quickly mobilise its troops in the region.
Calling it an issue of “very serious concern,” the Congress said Mr. Modi should openly talk about the Chinese “occupation” and forget about his “fake image”.
‘Very serious issue of concern’
Expressing concern over the matter, party spokesperson Pawan Khera said the MEA should clarify whether China had “occupied” Indian territory. “It is a very serious issue of concern for each one of us and we would call upon the Prime Minister to forget about his own image, think about the country, think about the brave army, which braving all odds of weather and of the enemy is valiantly protecting our borders,” he stated. “We want an immediate clarification from the Government of India on the words used by the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday that it is felt that the area is under Chinese occupation”.
China was violating the ceasefire agreement under which India gave up the vantage points that its brave armed forces had secured. “We are demoralising our own armed forces and it is shocking to see that the Ministry of External Affairs is undermining the Defence Ministry...I don’t know what is their compulsion, it appears though that every single Ministry of this government has one point agenda, to protect and promote ‘howsoever’, fake it is, the image of the Prime Minister,” Mr. Khera alleged.
