cong-slams-govt-s-reply-to-china-building-counties-in-ladakh

Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Saturday criticised the government’s response to China's establishment of two new counties in Hotan Prefecture by incorporating Ladakh’s territory and demanded a strong response from the government against the move.  

 

Khera said that the “perfunctory objection” raised by the Ministry of External Affairs in Friday’s press conference over the issue is “notwithstanding.” 

 

He demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the issue and said, "The non-serious objection by Jaishankar would not deter China and is not good for the country either". 

 

Khera accused China’s confidence in making such moves stems from the “clean chit” given by PM Modi.  

 

Speaking with the reporters here, he said, “The perfunctory objection raised by MEA is notwithstanding. China draws its confidence from the clean chit the PM gave on 20th June 2020 after the Chinese incursions in our territory.”  

 

He noted that the area in question has always remained part of India and that the government needs to assert its strong stance.  

 

“This needs to be taken seriously and casual objections by the EAM would not work. PM must understand that he can’t go about distributing clean chits to neighbours who are hostile to our interests,” he added.  

 

While responding to a query on China’s proposed mega-dam project on the Brahmaputra River, Khera said this damn undermines interests in the northeastern region.
 
“The dam on the Brahmaputra River again undermines and creates havoc for our interests in the northeastern region. This reflects very poorly on our foreign policy,” said the Congress leader.  

 

The Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday, addressing the issue, “We have seen the announcement about the establishment of two new counties in Hotan Prefecture of China.  

 

We have never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indian territory in this area,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a press conference. 

Earlier last week, Chinese media Xinhua reported that the government of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced the establishment of two new counties in the region: He’an County and Hekang County.