Serious concern: Congress on reports of China building bridge
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on China reportedly creating infrastructure for its military in Ladakh, and said he should openly talk about the Chinese “occupation” and forget about his “fake image.”
The party was reacting to reports of China building a second bridge over the Pangong Tso lake in eastern Ladakh.
People familiar with the Chinese construction on Wednesday had said that the new bridge is being built in an area that is over 20 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Expressing concern over the matter, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the Ministry of External Affairs should clarify whether China has “occupied” Indian territory.
“It is a very serious issue of concern for each one of us and we would call upon the prime minister to forget about his own image, think about the country, think about the brave army, which braving all odds of weather and of the enemy is valiantly protecting our borders,” he told reporters. “We want an immediate clarification from the government of India on the words used by the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday that it is felt that the area is under Chinese occupation,” he also said.
The Congress leader said China has established infrastructure support for the PLA to enable it to bring artillery support through these bridges and this particular bridge, which is under construction, is a broader bridge as compared to the first bridge.
Khera also alleged that by not speaking out against China, “We are demoralising our own armed forces and it is shocking to see that the Ministry of External Affairs is undermining the Defence Ministry.”
He said China is violating the ceasefire agreement under which India gave up the vantage points that we had under our position and we got that vantage point under our position due to our brave army.