Published 17:15 IST, September 15th 2020
Owaisi lambasts Rajnath over LAC faceoff statement, demands daily briefings from Centre
On Tuesday, AIMIM chief termed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's statement on the LAC situation as an "abominable joke" in the "name of national security".
On Tuesday, AIMIM chief termed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's statement on the LAC situation as an "abominable joke" in the "name of national security". He questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stance that the Chinese Army had not intruded into India. Weighing in on Singh's observation that China is in illegal possession of Indian land for many decades, Owaisi alleged that the Centre had probably decided to cede this territory.
Lamenting that the political leadership had not taken ownership of the dialogue process, he demanded the details about the guidance provided by the Union government to the Armed Forces. Stressing that it was not the Army's job to engage in diplomacy, he claimed that India had accepted Russian mediation on the issue. Opining that all the MPs stood in solidarity with the Armed Forces, the AIMIM chief reckoned that the onus of the solution lay with the Centre. Thereafter, he requested daily briefings from the government spokespersons on the faceoff.
Statement in Lok Sabha
The LAC faceoff was exacerbated when 20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15 when the de-escalation process was underway. This was followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August. Speaking in the Lower House earlier in the day, the Defence Minister affirmed that the Armed Forces were capable of facing any challenge from China. While acknowledging that the situation at the LAC is very different both in terms of the scale of troops involve and the number of friction points, he reiterated India's commitment for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.
Noting that the violent conduct of Chinese troops was a violation of all past agreements, he informed the MPs that India has done counter deployments in the area to safeguard the border. He mentioned that the Centre had also increased the budget for border infrastructure, thereby enhancing logistical support for Armed Forces. Elaborating that there were friction points in Eastern Ladakh, Gogra, Kongka La and Pangong Lake's north and south banks, he provided details of India's diplomatic endeavours such as his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe and the S Jaishankar-Wang Yi discussion. He appealed to his fellow parliamentarians to pass a unanimous resolution expressing solidarity with the Armed Forces.
Updated 17:15 IST, September 15th 2020