Congress asks whether Modi govt has accepted China’s post-April 2020 Changes to LAC
New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has launched a scathing attack on the BJP-led Indian government, asking it whether it has accepted a settlement with China that fails to restore the pre-April 2020 Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Ramesh questioned whether the Modi government had conceded to a “new normal,” allowing China to unilaterally alter the status quo. His remarks come against the backdrop of prolonged border tensions between India and China, which escalated in 2020 with confrontations in eastern Ladakh.
In a detailed post on X, Ramesh stated that the Congress Party had carefully analyzed the recent parliamentary statements by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on India-China relations. He criticized the government for preventing MPs from seeking clarifications or debating the issue in Parliament, saying it undermined the collective national resolve required to address border challenges.
Ramesh reiterated the Congress Party’s longstanding demand for a parliamentary debate, emphasizing the need to discuss both strategic and economic dimensions of the India-China relationship, particularly as India’s economic reliance on China has grown under the Modi administration.
Ramesh highlighted four pressing questions for the Modi government:
He pointed out that PM Modi’s June 2020 statement, claiming “no one has entered our territory,” was contradictory to the situation on the ground and weakened India’s negotiating position.
Referring to Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi’s October 2024 remarks, Ramesh asked why the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) appeared to accept a disengagement agreement that fell short of restoring the pre-2020 status quo.
Ramesh alleged that temporary measures in confrontation zones had created buffer zones, restricting access for Indian troops and livestock owners to areas they previously patrolled.
The Congress leader questioned why China had not confirmed disengagement at key points like Depsang and Demchok and whether Indian herders had regained grazing rights.
