Chidambaram fires broadside at Centre over LAC faceoff, claims 'China occupied territory'

On Friday, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram lashed out at the Centre for allowing China to intrude into Indian territory, a claim consistently refuted by the PM and the MEA. Maintaining that there was a grave threat to the country's security, he alleged that Chinese troops had occupied Indian territory in the Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, and the Pangong Tso lake. Chidambaram also questioned on the Armed Forces personnel being sent unarmed to fight their Chinese counterparts leading to the martyrdom of 20 soldiers.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had already clarified that the Armed Forces personnel were armed but had refrained from opening fire due to bilateral border management protocols. The senior Congress parliamentarian called upon the Union government to answer questions regarding the handling of the faceoff with China. 

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P Chidambaram remarked, "On the India-China border, there is a grave threat to India’s security. How did the government of India allow China to intrude into our territory? Today, the Chinese have amassed troops, arms and ammunition and occupied our territory in several places particularly the Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, and the Pangong lake. On the 15th of June, Indian jawans were sent to confront the Chinese troops. But they were sent unarmed. Why did the government of India allow the jawans to go unarmed? As a result, 20 jawans including a Colonel were martyred. These are the questions that the people of India are asking the government of India but have been given no answers. The questions are- How did the government of India allow Chinese troops to intrude into Indian territory and occupy Indian territory? Why did the government allow the loss of 20 lives by sending our jawans unarmed to confront the Chinese? The government must answer these questions." 

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India-China faceoff

20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred when a violent faceoff took place on June 15 when the de-escalation process was underway in the Galwan Valley. As per the Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese newspaper Global Times, the Chinese side also suffered casualties during the physical clash. On June 18, the Indian Army revealed that a total of 76 personnel had been injured out of which 18 admitted to the Leh hospital can resume duty in about 15 days. As per the Army, the remaining 58 soldiers should be back on duty within a week's time. 

At the 15th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) on Wednesday, India stressed that both sides must strictly respect the LAC. Recalling the previous week's conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, both sides reaffirmed that the understanding on disengagement and de-escalation that was reached by senior Commanders on June 6 should be implemented. The delegations from India and China agreed that the expeditious implementation of this understanding would help ensure peace in border areas and develop the broader relationship between the two countries.

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