NEW DELHI, 8 Dec: Attacking the government over its statement in Parliament on the India-China ties, the Congress on Sunday asked whether the Modi government has agreed to a “new normal” over the “old normal” prevailing prior to April 2020, and demanded that Parliament must be given an opportunity to debate the full gamut of the relationship between the two countries.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that a discussion in Parliament on India-China relationship should focus on both strategic and economic policy, “especially since our dependence on China has increased economically, even as it unilaterally changed the status quo on our borders over four years back.”
In a statement, Ramesh said that the Congress has studied the recent suo motu statement made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in both houses of Parliament titled ‘Recent developments in India’s relations with China’.
“It is unfortunate but typical of the Modi government that MPs were not permitted to seek any clarifications,” he said.
While “fully appreciating” the sensitive nature of many aspects of India-China border relations, he said that the Congress has four pointed questions on the statement issued by the Modi government.
Ramesh noted that the statement claims that “the house is well aware of the circumstances leading up to the violent clashes in Galwan Valley in June 2020”, and pointed out that it is an unfortunate reminder that the very first official communication to the nation on this crisis came on 19 June, 2020 when the PM provided a clean chit publicly to China and falsely stated “Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai.”
“Not only was this an insult to our fallen soldiers but it also weakened India’s position in subsequent negotiations. Whatever prompted the PM to make this assertion?” Ramesh said.
His remarks come days after Jaishankar said India is committed to remaining engaged with China to find a fair and mutually acceptable settlement of the boundary issue. However, he made it clear that its ties with Beijing will be contingent upon strictly respecting the sanctity of the LAC and adhering to the pacts on border management with no attempt to unilaterally alter the status quo.
Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, in which he articulated three key principles for engagement with China, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said the disengagement of troops has been achieved in “full” in eastern Ladakh through a step-by-step process, culminating in Depsang and Demchok.
India now expects the commencement of talks on remaining issues that it had placed on the agenda, he added.
Jaishankar had said that the conclusion of the disengagement phase now allows “us to consider other aspects of the bilateral engagement in a calibrated manner, keeping our national security interests first and foremost.”
Jaishankar made the statement in the Rajya Sabha the next day. (PTI)
