New Delhi:
Mulayam Singh Yadav today attacked the government over the incursion of Chinese troops in Ladakh, accused it of being "cowardly and incompetent," and warned that China "is the biggest enemy" and "Pakistan is no threat to India."
The Samajwadi Party chief was among several members who voiced concern in the Lok Sabha at the stand-off that continues with China at the border since the middle of this month, and slammed the UPA government that he lends crucial external support to, for going ahead with External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's scheduled visit to Beijing early next month.
Mr Yadav alleged that the Chinese incursion was designed to annexe Indian territory. "I have been raising this issue for the past eight years. I had warned that that there will be a repeat of 1962. I even went and met the Prime Minister in his chamber, yet there was no response. Now, Salman Khursid is going to China. To do what? Beg before them?" he said angrily.
On April 15, a Chinese platoon set up camp 19 kilometres inside Indian territory in the Depsang Valley in Ladakh. India has tried through meetings with local military commanders and through diplomatic channels to get China to vacate the spot. But China insists that it has not intruded into Indian territory.
The Indian government does not want to escalate hostilities and Mr Khurshid has said it must "remain an isolated incident and should not spill over into the larger spectrum of our relationship with China." Army sources have said that they are treating the incursion as a localised incident and have ruled out military action, though they admit that the stand-off could continue for weeks.
Mr Yadav, who is also a former Defence Minister said today that he believed the Indian Army was ready to remove all intruders but had not been given a go-ahead by the government. He demanded to know from the Prime Minister why the government was being "cowardly, incompetent and good for nothing" in dealing with China.