NEW DELHI: Neither is anyone inside our territory nor has any Indian post been captured, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday on the six-week border standoff with China as he briefed prominent political leaders about the killing of 20 soldiers in the Galwan Valley that triggered a massive escalation in tensions between the two countries.
At an all-party meeting, he said the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice taught a “lesson” to those who had dared to look towards India and that the army has been given “freedom” to take necessary steps.
“At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured,” the government said in a statement, adding he assured the leaders that the armed forces are leaving no stone unturned to protect the country. The categorical statement by the prime minister came in the wake of reports that Chinese military has transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de-facto border, in several areas of eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley.
The prime minister’s assertion came even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi questioned the government’s handling of the situation, asking if there was any intelligence failure and seeking assurance that China will “revert” to its original position. While the Congress and the Left sought to corner the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, most other parties, including the ruling alliance’s bitter critics like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and DMK’s MK Stalin, extended their support over the issue. (See Page 7)
Assuring all the leaders that armed forces were fully capable of protecting the country’s borders, Modi said, “While on the one hand, the army has been given freedom to take necessary steps, India has also conveyed its position clearly to China through diplomatic means.” he said.
He added that India today has such capability that no one can even dare to look towards “an inch of our land”. Modi said the entire country is hurt and angry at the steps taken by China at the LAC and underscored that India wants peace and friendship, but upholding sovereignty is “foremost”.
The nearly four-hour meeting through video conference was attended by top leaders including BJP president J P Nadda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, BSP’s Mayawati, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, DMK’s M K Stalin, Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray besides Gandhi and Banerjee among others.
Opposition parties like the RJD, AAP and AIMIM reacted angrily over not being invited to the meeting and raised questions over the criteria for the invitation.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the nation will never forget the sacrifice of the martyrs while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar gave an overview of agreements between India and China on border management, besides sharing details of recent developments.
The clash in Galwan Valley was the worst cross-border confrontation between the two sides in 45 years. While India lost 20 soldiers, China’s People’s Liberation Army has not yet talked about the number of casualties it suffered. The prime minister’s comment that Indian soldiers taught a “lesson” to those who dared to look towards India is seen as reference to casualties on the Chinese side.
The Chinese soldiers used stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs in carrying out brutal attacks on Indian soldiers after they protested the erection of a surveillance post by China on the Indian side of the LAC in Galwan.
The two armies were engaged in a standoff in Galwan and several other areas of eastern Ladakh since May 5 when the two sides clashed on the banks of the Pangong Tso. The situation in the area deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9. (PTI)
