Congress always demands evidence in matters pertaining to India’s defence: Ladakh MP

Leh (Ladakh): Member of Parliament from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal on Thursday attacked Congress for politicising the India-China standoff and said that the government is not silent on this matter but believes in raising the issue on appropriate platforms and asserted that Defence Minister will give a detailed reply in the parliament.

“The government is working on the defence and management of Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China. It is unfortunate that the Congress party is raising an issue related to this matter. Congress party always wants to see proofs whether it be for the surgical strike or any other issue related to India’s defence,” he said.

“As to why the government is silent on this matter, we do not believe in raising the issue on any platform. Our defence minister Rajnath Singh has already given an assurance that he will give a detailed description on the matter in the parliament,” he added.

Namgyal further asserted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi India has not conceded even an inch of land to China.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into power in 2014. One thing has been ensured that not even a single inch has been conceded to China in Ladakh. BJP is a nationalist party. We will never budge on this matter and the country should be assured about this fact,” Namgyal told ANI.

Namgyal further said that Article 370 and LAC are separate issues and should not be looked through the same prism.

“We cannot see Article 370 and Line of Actual Control (LAC) through the same prism. Article 370 is an internal issue. We have fought for the abrogation of article 370 right from the times of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherji. But I reiterate that LAC and Article 370 are unconnected,” he said.

Speaking on the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Ladakh, Namgyal said, “COVID-19 was a new challenge and Leh Hospital has combated the situation well. We were able to contain the situation in Leh and Kargil well in the beginning. In the past few days, the cases have spiked but with continued efforts, we will be able to combat the pandemic in the future.”

Diplomatic and military level talks are already underway to find a resolution to the ongoing dispute in Eastern Ladakh where the Chinese have deployed a large number of troops along the Line of Actual Control.

The Major General level talks were held after the military Commander-level talks were held on June 6 between 14 Corps Chief Lt Gen Harinder Singh and Chinese Maj Gen Liu Lin at Moldo opposite Chushul.

After the first round of talks, Chinese and Indian Armies disengaged by going back by 2-2.5 km from their standoff positions at Galwan Nala, PP-15 and Hot Springs. (ANI)