"Indians On Treasure Hunt": P Chidambaram On India-China Troops Pullback

Congress leader P Chidambaram today took a swipe at the centre over the tension with China in contested border areas. The 2-km mutual withdrawal of Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh - on since Sunday after special representative level talks - is complete in some areas, sources have said.

"I welcome the disengagement and pull back by Chinese troops. Will someone tell us the place from which the Chinese troops disengaged and the place in which they are now?" Mr Chidambaram tweeted.

"Similarly which is the place from which Indian troops disengaged? Did any troops - Chinese or Indian - move from one side of the LAC to the other? Answers to these questions are necessary because the Indian people are on a Treasure Hunt to find out what happened on June 15 and where," the Congress leader tweeted.

Answers to these questions are necessary because the Indian people are on a Treasure Hunt to find out what happened on June 15 and where.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) July 8, 2020

The opposition has been targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over allegations that the country has not been told the truth about Chinese aggression in eastern Ladakh, when on June 15 a violent face-off in Galwan valley led to 20 soldiers laying down their lives for India.

After an all-party meeting last month, PM Modi had said China has not captured any Indian territory or crossed the border. "Neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our post captured," PM Modi had said on June 20, adding the entire country was hurt and angry at the steps taken by China at the Line of Actual Control or LAC.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday quoted from China's statement on the special representative-level talks and accused the government of failing to protect national interest. Citing the Indian and Chinese statements, he questioned why the government has not insisted on status quo at the Line of Actual Control and why there was no mention of territorial integrity.

In its statement released after the talks, China said, "The right and wrong of what recently happened at the Galwan Valley in the western sector of the China-India boundary is very clear. China will continue firmly safeguarding our territorial sovereignty as well as peace and tranquillity in the border areas".

Sources today said the Chinese are now firmly on their side of the LAC - the de-facto border between India and China.

The Chinese and Indian troops had started the withdrawal at four spots in Ladakh - Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, Gogra and the Fingers region of Pangong - leaving a buffer zone in between after Sunday's talks.