Telangana CM awards ex-gratia of ₹5 cr to slain colonel’s family

nHYDERABAD: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday announced ex gratia of ₹5 crore to the family of colonel Santosh Babu, the commander of 16th Bihar regiment, who was killed in a clash with Chinese troops at Galwan valley in Eastern Ladakh on Monday night.

“The state government will also provide a residential plot to his family and Group-i job to the officer’s wife Santoshi,” he said.

Addressing the all-party meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to apprise the leaders of the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the CM also announced ₹10 lakh to families of each of the 19 soldiers who died in the brawl.

“We must display the symbol of unity and send a strong signal that the nation is with the brave soldiers and their families. Our actions will instil confidence among the armed forces personnel and their families,” he said.

The chief minister said while the Centre will provide support to the families of martyrs, the states too should extend support.

“We need to adopt short-term and long-term strategies to counter China. In this regard, we all stand by the Central government,” he said.

KCR opposed the call for stopping imports of Chinese goods. “It will be a hasty decision. First, let us start indigenously producing the goods that we are importing from China and make them affordable. Then we can think of banning imports,” he said.

NEWDELHI:INDIA will place efforts to contain Chinese attempts to expand its influence in the United Nations system as a foreign policy priority. New Delhi has always sought to reduce Beijing’s influence in the UN and its affiliated organisations, but it is now considering “all options” in its responses. Even the UN Human Rights Council, a tainted body that India has generally kept at arm’s length, may not be off the list.

Previously indifferent to East River, over the past decade,