Congress takes a 'DDLJ' dig at Centre's strategy to deal with Chinese incursions in Ladakh, says THIS
4 min read . Updated: 30 Jan 2023, 10:34 AM IST
Premium- The party alleged since May 2020, the Modi government’s preferred strategy to deal with the Chinese incursions in Ladakh can be summed up with ‘DDLJ-Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify’.
The Congress on Monday took a dig at the Centre to deal with Chinese incursions in Ladakh.
The party alleged since May 2020, the Modi government’s preferred strategy to deal with the Chinese incursions in Ladakh can be summed up with “DDLJ-Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify".
In a statement issued on Monday, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh wrote, “External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent remarks attacking the Congress party are simply the latest attempt to divert attention from the Modi government’s failed China policy, the most recent revelation being that since May 2020 India has lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points in Ladakh."
He further said that there is no comparison between the country went to war with China in 1962 and in 2020.
“The fact is that there is no comparison between 1962, when India went to war with China to defend its territory, and 2020 after which India has acquiesced to Chinese aggression with denials followed by ‘disengagements’ in which India has lost access to thousands of square kilometres of territory," he wrote.
The statement from Congress comes after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said some people deliberately spread wrong news about the China issue, knowing it is not true, for politics and by talking about some land, which was taken by China in 1962, they give the impression this happened recently - comments that are viewed as a dig at Gandhi.
"Sometimes, they talk about some land, which was taken by China in 1962. But they will not tell you the truth. They will give you the impression that this thing happened yesterday," he had said without taking names.
Ramesh further alleged that “EAM Jaishankar’s implied cheap shot at Rahul Gandhi for meeting the Chinese ambassador in 2017 is ironic to say the least coming from someone who as ambassador to the US during the Obama administration presumably met with leading Republicans."
“Are opposition leaders not entitled to meet diplomats from countries that are important from a trade, investment and security standpoint?" he questioned.
Further adding, he wrote, “The Modi government should have been truthful from the start and taken the opposition into confidence by discussing the China crisis in parliamentary standing committees and debating the issue in Parliament. At a very minimum it should have held detailed briefings for leaders of major political parties."
“It is extraordinary that EAM Jaishankar has admitted on several occasions that he has no idea why China has turned aggressive on the Line of Actual Control, notwithstanding the unusually frequent contacts between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping and the PM’s boast that he enjoys a special ‘Plus One’ relationship with President Xi," Ramesh said.
He said, “No amount of obfuscation can hide the fact that the Modi government has sought to cover up India’s biggest territorial setback in decades that followed PM Modi’s naive wooing of President Xi."
Concluding, he wrote, “We suggest that EAM Jaishankar and the government spend more time trying to get Chinese troops out of Depsang and Demchok and less time on blaming the opposition for their own incompetence."
The government must deal with China firmly and make it clear that "we are not going to tolerate them sitting on our land", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said here on the eve of the culmination of his Bharat Jodo Yatra on Sunday.
On 29 January, Rahul Gandhi too said that the approach that the government was following "by completely denying" that the Chinese have "taken our land" is extremely dangerous as it would give them the confidence to do even "more aggressive things".
While addressing a press conference hours after unfurling the tricolour at Lal Chowk, the former Congress president, said, "I think the way to deal with these Chinese is to deal with them firmly and to be very clear that they are sitting on our land and it is not something we are going to tolerate."
"The Prime Minister of India is the only person in the country who is under the impression that the Chinese have not taken any land from India. I recently met some ex-army people, even a delegation from Ladakh which clearly said that 2000 square kilometres of our Indian territory have been taken over by Chinese," Gandhi had said.
The Galwan Valley and Pangong Lake in the west of the LAC have been flashpoints between the Indian and Chinese troops most recently. East of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh was where the two forces came to blows last year.
Recently, India and China held the 17th Round of Corps Commander Level Meeting at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side on December 20 where both sides agreed to maintain security and stability on the ground in the western sector.
