New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has sharply questioned the Union government over its handling of relations with China, demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi take Parliament and the nation into confidence rather than targeting the Opposition.
In a strongly worded post on his X handle, the Congress chief declared, “Enough clean chits to China. PM Modi must come clean before India!” and posed three pointed questions covering national security, economic security and diplomatic accountability.
On the issue of national security, Kharge expressed deep alarm over the confirmation by the Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police of continuing face-offs with the People’s Liberation Army in Arunachal Pradesh.
Recalling the earlier confrontations at Doklam and Galwan, he asked whether another serious confrontation was unfolding. He referred to reports of Chinese incursions near Taksing that emerged in August and noted that even 47 days after Corps Commander-level talks held at Wacha–Damai, reportedly just 180 kilometres away, the confrontations had not ceased.
Kharge questioned whether India’s patrolling access had been compromised and stressed that Arunachal Pradesh remains an inseparable part of India. He asked why the nation was being kept in the dark on such a critical matter.
Turning to economic security, the Congress president highlighted that since the Galwan clash in which 20 Indian Army personnel made the supreme sacrifice in FY 2020–21, Chinese imports into India have surged by 102 per cent while the bilateral trade deficit has ballooned by 155 per cent to reach 112.16 billion dollars. He pointed out that even Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has admitted that China continues to obstruct Indian exports.
Despite this, Kharge alleged, the government is easing restrictions on Chinese investment and is considering extending Production Linked Incentive benefits to eligible China-linked ventures. He asked whether the slogan of Make in India had effectively turned into “Import from China.”
On diplomatic accountability, Kharge listed the extensive high-level engagements held with China, including at least 23 reported meetings and interactions between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping, 25 rounds of Special Representatives’ talks involving National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, 36 meetings of the working mechanism for consultation and coordination, and successive summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS.
He demanded to know what tangible results these engagements had delivered and whether India’s pre-May 2020 patrolling rights along the border had been fully restored. While affirming complete confidence in the Armed Forces, Kharge asserted that national security requires genuine accountability rather than diplomatic photo opportunities and what he termed “Hugplomacy.”
Kharge urged the Prime Minister to stop attacking the Opposition and instead place the full facts before Parliament and the people of India.
–IANS–
