Hyderabad: Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said, India must become self-reliant as much as possible but it can't decouple with the rest of the world.
Chidambaram said, "We must become self-reliant as much as possible but we can't decouple with the rest of the world. India must continue to part of the global supply chain and not boycott Chinese goods. What part of Chinese trade with India is China's world trade? It's a fraction."
"So boycotting Chinese goods will not hurt the China's economy. We should not bring issues like boycott when we are discussing very grave matters like the defence of India," he added.
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Senior Congress leader Chidambaram also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark that no outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh, had practically left everyone "baffled and bewildered".
"What is the government's answer to this claim? Now that China is claiming the entire Galwan Valley, will Government of India reject this claim," he asked.
He said if the Government of India does not reject the claim of the Chinese today, it can have "terrible consequences".
(With PTI Inputs)
