New Delhi: The Congress party, on Monday, questioned the Central Government's silence over the satellite imagery showing that China has built a settlement on the eastern periphery of contested Doklam plateau, asserting that it can be a threat to Siliguri corridor, which, if taken, can isolate Northeast India from the mainland.
While addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that the Government's silence in enabling Chinese aggression.
He said, "The silence of GOI on development related to China has been deafening. Why is there no acknowledgement of the fact that we are now caught up in a multi border tension?"
Khera further added, "There have been issues with Nepal. The Pakistan border has already seen action in tandem with Chinese aggression in Ladakh and China has directly committed aggression against our territory with no signs of reversal and the talks with China have been two steps forward five steps back for India."
The recent satellite images have revealed that China has built a small village or settlement inside Bhutanese territory and merely 10 km away from the 2017 Doklam clash site. In addition to this, a 9 km long road has also been built.
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"The implications of these developments in the region are multi-faceted. At first, it is the clear failure of the Central government to stop the Chinese from undertaking such complex construction work near the disputed site. The second is how the Chinese have essentially changed the status quo in the Doklam region and have reaffirmed their false territorial claims through muscle power," the Congress leader alleged.
In 2017, the Chinese army attempted to access Zompelri ridge but was stopped by Indian soldiers. After a mutual agreement of de-escalation between the two countries, it was decided that both the Armies will pull back from the disputed site and create a buffer zone.
While questioning the Government over this matter, Pawan Khera said, "Did the Government have any intelligence report regarding this construction? Has the Indian government summoned the Bhutanese Ambassador regarding these developments? Has the government decided to take any steps to regain the status quo in Doklam?"
Earlier today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also slammed the BJP-led Central Government, by tweeting, "China's geopolitical strategy cannot be countered by a PR driven media strategy. This simple fact seems to elude the minds of those running GOI."
