Congress questions govt on Indian shepherds being stopped by China's PLA soldiers in Ladakh

New Delhi, February 2

The Congress on Friday slammed the government after a video clip surfaced showing Indian shepherds confronting Chinese soldiers after being stopped from taking their animals in an area in eastern Ladakh. The party asked the Home Minister if there has been any effort to protect them from Chinese “harassment”. In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asked how many such incidents have happened since May 2020 and if graziers suffered any injury in such encounters.

“…we have seen how the Modi government failed to prevent the Chinese from denying our troops and graziers access to 2,000 square kilometres of territory in eastern Ladakh for the past four years, despite 18 rounds of military talks. But the MEA and the Ministry of Defence are not the only authorities involved here. Border management comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is the responsibility of the Home Ministry to ensure that Indian graziers are able to exercise their rights as citizens inside Indian territory,” the Congress leader said in the statement.