The Congress on Wednesday sought the government’s stand on the situation at the Line of Actual Control and specifically on Union minister VK Singh’s recent comment that India has crossed the border more times than China, The Indian Express reported.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury pointed out during the Zero Hour in Parliament on Wednesday that Singh’s comments have been covered widely in the media. “If it has happened, it’s fine, but why should we keep boasting about it?” Chowdhury said, according to The Indian Express. “Now China has picked that up, it has given our neighbour a chance to tarnish our image.”
He said that the defence minister should speak on the matter and the government should be careful that no one makes such statements as it is contrary to India’s official stand that it has not crossed borders of any country.
Earlier on Tuesday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had said that Singh should be sacked for his comments. “Not sacking him means insulting every Indian Jawan,” he had said in a tweet.
The controversy broke out on Sunday after Singh said that India’s border with China had never been demarcated, and that the two countries have differing perceptions about the de facto border. He said that this led to transgression from both sides, according to their perception. “Let me assure you, if China has transgressed 10 times, we must have done it at least 50 times,” the former Army chief had told reporters in Madurai.
Reacting to the Union minister’s statement, China had on Tuesday said the comments were an “unwitting confession” by the Indian side.
‘I am more aware of LAC and borders’: VK Singh
Meanwhile, Singh tried to distance himself from the comment. On Wednesday, he issued a statement in which he suggested that the reports on the matter were a “malicious distortion” of what he had said. “I am more aware of the LAC and the borders,” he said in a caption to his statement on Twitter. “Suggest do not fall prey to the Chinese propaganda.”
Singh said that he had stated an “established fact” that the borders along the LAC were not demarcated and differing perceptions about the border will exist until that is done.
“The distortion of my statement/reply has needlessly given the Chinese a platform to try and cover their own aggressive tracks and shift the blame on India,” Singh said. “As a former Army chief and the Minister of State for External Affairs, I am fully aware of the implications of this blatant misreporting.”
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