India-China row: Chidambaram asks why MEA has not insisted on restoring status quo ante

Attacking the BJP government on the Indo-China border row, former Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram asked why the statement issued by MEA has not spoken for the nation's demand for restoration of status quo ante. He said that the statement is a rebuff to the claim that no has intruded Indian territory.

New Delhi:Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday questioned why the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) yesterday was silent on its demand for restoration of status quo ante and asserted that this is another admission by the government that China has changed the status quo in the region.

"MEA's statement last night speaks of India's expectation as 'complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas'. So far, so good," Chidambaram said in a tweet.

He said that it is another rebuff to the claim that no one has intruded into Indian territory.

"But why is the statement silent on India's demand of 'restoration of status quo ante as on May 5, 2020'?," Chidambaram said in the following tweet.

"The statement is another admission that China has changed the status quo that was prevailing on May 5. It is another rebuff to the claim that 'no one has intruded into India and no one is in Indian territory'," he added.

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The MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had on Thursday said that the country expects the Chinese side to sincerely work with for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Twenty Indian soldiers lost their lives in a violent face-off in Galwan valley on June 15-16 after an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation.

Indian intercepts revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in the face-off. India and China have been involved in talks to ease the ongoing border tensions.

(With ANI inputs)