The Congress on Friday said the intelligence and diplomacy of the Modi government has failed to stop Chinese incursions in Ladakh and asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi was lying to the nation by saying no one has occupied Indian territory.
The party said by denying Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh the government has lowered the morale of the armed forces.
Addressing a joint press conference, Congress leaders MM Pallam Raju, Jitendra Singh and Pawan Khera said according to reports China has occupied Indian territory up to 18 km inside the LAC in Depsang plains, posing an alarming threat to India's national security and territorial integrity.
They said satellite images suggest China has made fresh transgressions and new constructions between June 6 and June 24 and has reoccupied PP-14 in Galwan Valley, the area that witnessed violent clashes on the night of June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.
Raju said reports and observations by retired generals and defence experts with the help of satellite imagery suggest the Chinese forces are now 7 km short of the Ladakh town of Burtse, on the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road, and have come as close as 25 km from the crucial airstrip of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), that is within artillery range.
"Is the prime minister lying to the nation," Raju asked, alleging that there has been a diplomatic and intelligence failure.
"Why is the Modi government afraid of acknowledging Chinese incursion in Galwan Valley and in the Depsang plains? Why is the Modi government demoralizing our brave solders by issuing contradictory statements? Why is the Modi government's diplomacy not helping in protecting and restoring India's territorial integrity," the former union minister asked.
"What has India gained from the prime minister's personal outreach to various countries in general and China in particular," Raju asked.
Former Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh said this is the same Depsang area, called 'Bottleneck or Y-junction', where the Chinese had made incursions in 2013 during UPA but had to withdraw.
"The Modi government is a weak government as it unfortunately refuses to even acknowledge any incursions, thereby weakening the morale of our soldiers," he said.
Khera alleged that while the nation has confidence in the country's armed forces to throw out the Chinese from Indian territory, there is doubt in the party about this government's political will.
"The sad part is that the prime minister does not even accept the reality," he said.
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