Govt united on China, no contradiction between PM and Defence Ministry

The report by the Ministry of Defence on Chinese incursions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the stand taken by the Prime Minister on the aggression in Galwan Valley, Ladakh, are not contradictory to each other, an official source said.

With the Chinese attempts to change the status quo on the border, the PMO and the Government of India are acting in unison and are seized of the serious situation at the LAC. The official said the Galwan Valley incident in Ladakh is being exploited for political purposes.

He added that the government was continuously monitoring the situation on the border and has given a befitting reply to China. The Home Minister had recently made a visit to the LAC and before that the Prime Minister himself had visited the border and met with the soldiers who had braved the Chinese assault, inflicting more casualties on China. "Even at that time a campaign had been launched to say that Modi had not visited the border and that he had not visited the hospital to meet up with the injured troops," the official said.

People in the government say that attempts are being made to create a rift in the country at a time when the situation in the country is critical not just because of the Chinese but also because of the coronavirus pandemic. "Otherwise, why should anyone make such insidious efforts to conflate the Defence Ministry report with the PM's statement," the official said.

Pointing out that it is this government which has taken up the cause of improving infrastructure in border areas as a priority. "Obviously, this has rattled the Chinese. The government has never denied Chinese attempts to cross the LAC and alter the status quo. We have said this in our official statements, so how can there be a contradiction within the government," the official said,

In the numerous talks with the Chinese on resolving the stand-off, various Indian interlocutors have strongly emphasized the need for complete disengagement and de-escalation of troops along the LAC, sources add. People in the government point out that think tanks and the strategic community feel there has been an attempt at politicizing the situation at the LAC.

Political parties as well as some commentators had criticized the Prime Minister's statement after the all-party meeting, when he had said that there was no intrusion into Indian territory by China. The government had clarified that the Prime Minister had spoken only about the events of June 15 in Galwan Valley when he said that the Chinese had not entered India.

Again there was an uproar two days back when the media alleged that documents by the Defence Ministry admitting transgressions by the Chinese into various parts of eastern Ladakh were removed from the ministry's website..