Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that the Ladakh locals informed him that the Chinese have taken over the Indian land. Rahul Gandhi said the locals told him the prime minister, Narendra Modi, was lying about China's acquisition of the Indian territory.
“I spent a week in Ladakh. I went to Pangong Lake right in front of where the Chinese were. I had detailed discussions, probably the most detailed discussions that any politician outside Ladakh has had with the people of Ladakh. They categorically told me that the Chinese have taken Indian land. They categorically told me that the PM [Modi] is lying about the fact that the Chinese have not taken Indian land," Rahul Gandhi said.
The Congress leader said every person in the Union Territory knows that “they have been betrayed" by the Central government.
Rahul Gandhi has also alleged that there definitely has been some change in borders. “There is clearly an accommodation that has happened between the Centre and the Chinese. There is clearly a change on the borders," Rahul Gandhi said.
“Our shepherds themselves told us that they are not being allowed into the areas where they were allowed...It is extremely shameful what has happened in Ladakh," the Congress MP said.
This is in line with the set of allegations that Rahul Gandhi has recently made over China's presence in Ladakh.
To add to it, China on Monday officially released the 2023 edition of its "standard map" that showed Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of its territory. The "map" also showed the entire South China Sea as part of China as it featured in the previous editions of the 'map'.
As India registered a strong protest over its new “standard map", China defended its move, saying that it is a "routine practice" in accordance with its law and urged India to "stay objective and calm" and refrain from "over-interpreting" the issue.
(With agency inputs)
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Updated: 01 Sep 2023, 05:39 PM IST