Congress and the opposition have cornered the central government over the statement of the Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) regarding the tense situation on the Arunachal Pradesh border.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General (DG) Shatrujit Kapoor had said on Thursday, "In the last few days, such a situation arose when both the sides (India and China) came face to face at many places in Arunachal Pradesh. This situation is still continuing."
This is the first time since the tension on the north-eastern border started in July this year, that it has been officially confirmed.
Since the end of July, there has been tension in Asaphila and Maja areas of Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh.
Congress has targeted the Modi government and said, "The Prime Minister and his entire machinery are keeping silence on this serious issue.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Kheda alleged in the press conference that the Modi government has bowed down to China.
The Indian Foreign Ministry has also reacted on this matter.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has said that India and China are continuously talking to resolve the issues related to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Randhir Jaiswal said, "As we have said earlier, the situation on the India-China border worsens from time to time when Chinese soldiers start patrolling away from their prescribed route. Both the countries are continuously using dialogue and military means to resolve the remaining issues on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), remove misunderstandings and avoid any disturbance.
Talking to the media, he said, "Both sides have also agreed that the understanding of LAC should be improved for proper management of the border. I would also like to emphasize that maintaining peace on the border is very important to move forward the mutual relations between the two countries."
Shiv Sena UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi termed the matter as serious and said that 'the country's Home Minister, Defense Minister and Foreign Minister should answer.'
Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Deepke has also taken a jibe at the government by sharing Shatrujit Kapoor's statement.
In the 'Himvir Samman Samaroh', an honor ceremony organized every year for ITBP soldiers, on Thursday, ITBP DG Shatrujit Kapoor said that ITBP commandos have been active during the ongoing conflict on the Arunachal Pradesh border.
He praised the 'extraordinary work' of the Shaurya Commando teams.
He said, "Our newly formed Shaurya commando teams played a brilliant role in this. ITBP was formed as a guerrilla force in the hilly areas and in 2004 we were given the responsibility of protecting the border with China."
In this program organized at the Central Training College (CTC) in Alwar, Rajasthan, he said that the weapons used by ITBP are 50 years old and their modernization is necessary.
Emphasizing the need to invest and develop drones and anti-drone technology, the ITBP chief said it may not be possible to counter China through conventional means as it has invested heavily in modernizing its weapons and infrastructure.
He said, "Now it will be difficult to counter China through conventional means, because China has invested heavily in modernizing its security forces and has gone ahead. But through drones, small countries can fight big countries, as we have seen in the Russia-Ukraine and Iran-America conflicts."
After the ITBP chief's statement, Congress has launched a scathing attack on the Modi government at the Center and made allegations. Congress has said, 'There have been reports of clashes with Chinese soldiers since July this year, but the Modi government kept suppressing these reports.'
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on Twitter, "While on one hand the Prime Minister who has surrendered to China continues to make concessions, on the other hand the Director General of ITBP has praised the performance of ITBP in the recent confrontations with the Chinese PLA in Arunachal Pradesh inside the Indian border, which is absolutely right. But the Prime Minister and his entire machinery are keeping silent on this serious issue."
China calls Arunachal Pradesh as Southern Tibet. Many meetings have been held between India and China regarding the border dispute but the issue has not been resolved.
