The Congress party has raised concerns over the Modi government's announcement to normalize relations with China, citing lingering questions regarding the disengagement agreement from October 21, 2024.
A statement Member of Parliament and General Secretary (Communications) of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), Jairam Ramesh, read, "In the wake of Foreign Secretary’s recent Beijing visit, New Delhi and Beijing have agreed to restore commercial and cultural ties, including the resumption of direct flights between the capitals, the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a liberalized visa regime, and other measures.
However, Congress argues that the government has yet to satisfactorily explain why now is the right time to pursue normalization, especially considering the ongoing territorial disputes. Since China’s occupation of 2,000 square kilometers of Indian territory in eastern Ladakh—accessed by Indian patrols until May 2020—the party believes the government should insist on restoring the status quo ante, which existed before the occupation.
"Ever since the Chinese occupied 2,000 sq km of territory in eastern Ladakh that had been accessed by Indian patrols until May 2020, the people and the Armed Forces of the country have held that the Government of India must insist on a restoration of the status quo ante as it stood prior to that," the statement added.
However, repeated statements from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have cast doubt on whether this status quo has been fully reinstated. The Congress accuses the government of complacency, claiming that it allowed China to drag out negotiations for four years under a false pretext. Referring to the Prime Minister's earlier statement, "Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hal," the party contends that the government's approach has failed to safeguard Indian interests. "This so-called normalisation will only amplify the trends whose only beneficiaries appear to be the Prime Minister's cronies and financiers," the Congress asserts.
Further highlighting the government's questionable stance, the Congress points to a significant increase in imports from China.
Congress' Questions for PM Modi Before Normalisation with China
- Will Indian troops be able to patrol up to our claim line in Depsang to five patrolling points past the Bottleneck junction as they were able to earlier?
- Will our troops be able to reach the three patrolling points in Demchok that have remained out of bounds for more than four years?
- Will our soldiers continue to be restricted to Finger 3 in Pangong Tso when earlier they could go as far as Finger 87
- Are our patrols permitted to access the three patrolling points in the Gogra-Hot Springs area that they could earlier go up to?
- Will Indian graziers once again be given the right to access traditional grazing grounds in Helmet Top, Mukpa Re, Rezang La, Rinchen La, Table Top and Gurung Hill in Chushul?
- Are the "buffer zones" that our government ceded to the Chinese, which included the site of a memorial in Rezang La to war hero and posthumous Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Shaitan Singh, now a thing of the past?