BAD POLITICAL PLAY

The sustained questioning of the Government by the Congress party over its action, or rather lack of it, in the Galwan River Valley of Eastern Ladakh following violent clashes between the Indian and Chinese troops on June 15, has raised questions about the intent of India’s main opposition party. The grand old party has become too vocal for the comfort of the common people concerned about the happenings on the ground in the treacherous border separating the two Asian giants in the Himalayan region.

While it’s true that for whatever reason India failed to see the Chinese incursion into the Ladakh sector coming and preparations to meet any such eventuality on the ground were far from adequate, but the questions being raised by the Congress party are going to hurt and demoralise the armed forces who made the supreme sacrifice in safeguarding the Indian territory since they are responsible for the execution of the Government’s guidelines on the ground.

The most hilarious query has been the question raised by Rahul Gandhi, asking why the Indian army was not carrying guns when the Galwan clash took place. There is a well-known understanding between the two countries to not to use arms in the eventuality of conflict to prevent its escalation into war. No bullet has been fired on the contentious India-china border for decades.

It is not the first time the Congress party is going against the strong public sentiment. It had raised similar questions in 2016 and 2019 after the surgical strikes on the terror camps located inside Pakistan occupied Kashmir and paid a heavy political price by getting defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

If anything, it just goes to shows that the party’s growing frustration after being out of power. The party must realise that national interests are sacrosanct which should not be used as a tool of politics.

..... SHAUKAT HUSSAIN, PUNE via email