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India-China stand-off: J&K opposition leaders take swipe at BJP for ‘inept’ handling of border tension
The Indian army has suffered multiple casualties, including that of an officer, in the “violent face off” with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh, the army said in a statement on Tuesday.
The opposition leaders in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre for its ‘inept’ handling of the border issue while strongly condemning the stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Galwan valley.
The Indian army has suffered multiple casualties, including that of an officer, in the “violent face off” with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh, the army said in a statement on Tuesday. It added that there were casualties on both sides.
Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) general secretary and a close confidante of Mehbooba Mufti, Ved Mahajan said, “We strongly condemn the killings of a senior rank officer and two soldiers in Ladakh. It is a big incident and our armed forces should avenge these killings. There should be a tit for tat. This is not 1962, this is 2020. The time has come to prove it practically”.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also took to Twitter to condemn the incident. “Seems like China has hijacked the aggressive ‘ghar main ghuske marengay’ militaristic approach. Nation deserves to know why there is no talk of retaliation to avenge the death of three Indian army personnel!”, said Mehbooba, whose Twitter handle is used by her daughter Iltija Mufti.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir said, “The Modi government showed great postures towards China in the past six years. From tea, coffee, breakfast, dinner and swings, everything was organised but today the ground situation is totally different. They are intruding our territory. It has become a routine and now this incident has escalated tension.”
Mir said, “China may have had its compulsions to divert attention from Covid-19 deaths in their country but India should create goodwill to save its people from death and destruction. The issue has to be resolved politically”.
“The government has not been able to resolve the issue. Protecting the nation’s sovereignty is the government’s duty. If it is not resolved politically, then there should be a directive to the armed forces to secure our land. There should not be a stand-off,” Mir added.
Former chief minister and National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah also took to Twitter to talk about the incident. “If the Chinese shoot dead an Indian army colonel and two jawans during a “de-escalation process” imagine how escalated the situation must be in the first place. This is what happens when the media propagates the government line that asking questions is anti-national,” he tweeted.
NC provincial president Devender Singh Rana said,“Disturbing reports coming in from Ladakh. While de-escalation is the key here, violence against our citizens and our armed forces is unacceptable. We stand by the family of those martyred and pray for the safety of our brothers and sisters in Ladakh. May we emerge from this victorious and with utmost dignity.”
CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami said, “It is unfortunate that a clash took place during the de-escalation process on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. This has taken place after talks between the two sides at a high military level began on June 6 to discuss the process of disengagement. I express my deep condolences at the death of an Indian Army officer and two soldiers”.
“The government should come out with an authoritative statement as to what actually happened. It is imperative that both the governments immediately initiate high-level talks to defuse the situation and advance the process of disengagement on the basis of agreed understanding on maintaining peace and tranquility on the border,” he added.
