Congress renews call for Parliament debate on Indo-China ties

The Congress on Friday reiterated its demand for a parliamentary discussion on India-China relations, citing recent statements by Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Rahul R Singh about India facing dual threats from Pakistan and China.

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AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Lt Gen Singh publicly confirmed what had been talked about ever since Operation Sindoor was halted abruptly at the intervention of US President Donald Trump. “He has revealed some details of the extraordinary ways by which China helped the Pakistani air force. This is the same China that unilaterally altered Ladakh’s status quo five years ago, yet received a public clean chit from PM Modi on June 19, 2020,” he said.

The Congress leader said for five years, the Congress had been demanding a discussion on the full gamut of India-China relations in Parliament. “The government has consistently refused to have such a debate. We will continue to make this demand in the forthcoming monsoon session,” he said, adding that the government “must now agree so that a consensus can be built for a collective response to the geopolitical and economic challenges that China poses to India -- directly and through Pakistan”.

“Recently, China organised a trilateral meet with Pakistan and Bangladesh in Kunming. India’s trade deficit with China is at record high. The border agreement arrived at is not a restoration of the status quo,” Jairam said.