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Centre ust come clean on Indo-China face-off
KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 5/29/2020 11:27:02 PM
NEW DELHI, May 29: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said that the government must come clean on the border face-off between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“The Government’s silence about the border situation with China is fueling massive speculation and uncertainty at a time of crisis. GOI must come clean and tell India exactly what’s happening,” Gandhi tweeted on Friday.
The stand-off started in the Ladakh region after China took an aggressive stand and deployed around 6,000 troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Sources in the government say that China wants India to stop the infrastructure projects in the border area. India is building roads and bridges in the Ladakh region which will make it easier for soldiers posted in the area to get supplies and weaponry. A bridge being built near Daulat Beg Oldie, the last border post near the Karakoram Pass, has irked China the most. India too has deployed it soldiers deft in managing things on high altitude, matching China’s numbers and resources. Security experts and government sources say that India should not back down, and keep its soldiers there.
The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5. The two sides have since then been engaged in a series of meetings.In its first comments on the ongoing stand-off, the Chinese defence ministry said on Thursday that the situation on the India-China border is “stable and controllable”. “China’s position on the China-India border is clear. The Chinese border troops are committed to maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas,” defence ministry spokesperson, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang said at the monthly ministry briefing.
The ministry said both countries have the wherewithal to resolve the situation through established communication mechanisms.It is possibly a sign that the Chinese government is not willing to allow the situation to worsen through a war of words with New Delhi. To be sure, India has rejected China’s assertion that its troops had carried out illegal constructions across the LAC.