New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "given" 1,000 square kilometres of Indian territory to China "without a fight", and asked the government how it will be retrieved. He also claimed that China has refused to accept India's demand of restoring status quo on the border as on April 2020.
Gandhi's attack came after Indian and Chinese armies carried out a joint verification of the disengagement process at Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh after withdrawing their troops and dismantling temporary infrastructure from the friction point. Both sides completed the disengagement in a phased and coordinated manner, according to people familiar with the development.
Attacking the government, Gandhi tweeted, "China has refused to accept India's demand of restoring status quo of April 2020. PM has given 1,000 Sq Kms of territory to China without a fight." Can the government of India explain how this territory will be retrieved, he asked. The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.
Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area. The disengagement in the Pangong Lake area took place in February last year while the withdrawal of troops and equipment in Patrolling Point 17 (A) in Gogra took place in August last year. (PTI)
