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Will Modi govt tell truth, asks Congress after Bipin Rawat, MEA ‘differ’ on China
In its first reponse to Pentagon report of Chinese village in Arunachal, the ministry said it has never accepted "illegal occupation" of its territory. CDS Bipin Rawat said the reports are not true.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Friday raised questions over what is happening on the Line of Actual Control in the eastern sector of Arunachal Pradesh, a day after the ministry of external affairs and the chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat commented on the reports of China building villages in Arunachal Pradesh.
The ministry of external affairs said India has neither accepted the illegal occupation of Indian territory by China nor China's unjustified claims.
"China has undertaken construction activities in the past several years along the border areas including in the areas that it has illegally occupied over the decades. India has neither accepted such illegal occupation of our territory nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims," ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
Bipin Rawat, on the other hand, said the reports that the Chinese have come into Indian territory is not true. "The present controversy - that has erupted - that the Chinese have come across into our territory and built a new village is not true. But what I wish to come out with is that Chinese are building villages possibly for billeting and locating their civilians or for their military in the future all along the LAC, particularly after the recent face-offs that we have had," Bipin Rawat said.
"EAM says we will not accept China's illegal occupation! CDS gives 'clean chit' to China? Earlier, PM told an all-party meeting 'no one has entered our territory'. Defence ministry has conducted 13 rounds of talks with China on Depsang-Gogra. Will Modi govt state the truth?" Surjewala tweeted.
The statement of the ministry was India's first official response to the Pentagon report that China has built a village in Arunachal Pradesh. "The government is committed to the objective of creating infrastructure along border areas for improvement of livelihood, including in Arunachal Pradesh. The government keeps a constant watch on developments having bearing on India's security and takes all measures to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity," Bagchi said.
Rawat's comment was part of Times Now Summit 2021. "Wherever the Chinese have now developed their posts, we have seen some old dilapidated huts that existed in that area," he said.
"Yes, maybe a couple of them, the villages, have increased in size. What I would probably feel is that these are to billet the Chinese soldiers and subsequently, they may also be planning to facilitate the arrival of their families once in a while... Our civilians going there, our families visiting forward areas, so they are watching all this," Rawat said.
