The Congress on Wednesday raised questions on the breakthrough in border talks between India and China and said that it expects the disengagement will restore the status quo ante as it existed in March 2020, before the Galwan face-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said, post Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri’s October 21 announcement ending the four-year long deadlock at the two friction points of Depsang plains and Demchok along the LAC, that “we will be able to do patrolling which we were doing till 2020”.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh stated that many questions arise regarding the Modi government’s announcement that an agreement has been reached with China on patrolling arrangements.

“We hope that India’s worst foreign policy setback in decades is being honourably resolved. We expect that the disengagement will restore the status quo ante as it existed in March 2020,” Ramesh stated while acknowledging the foreign secretary’s assertion that this will “lead to disengagement and eventually a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas..” four years ago.

Clean chit to China

The Congress leader stated that India’s standing hit its lowest point on June 19, 2020, when the Prime Minister gave his infamous clean chit to China, saying “Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai” (nobody has breached our border and entered our country).

This statement was made only four days after the clash in Galwan in which 20 Army soldiers died. It also legitimised China’s aggression and thereby impeded the timely resolution of the standoff at the LAC, Ramesh said.

“Modi government’s approach to the entire crisis could be described as DDLJ: Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify,” he commented.

Matter not debated in Parliament

Ramesh also stated that the Parliament was denied an opportunity for four years to debate or discuss the matter, to reflect our collective resolve to address the border challenge, as had been the convention under previous governments.

The Congress leader stated that India’s economic dependency on the “bigger economy” has increased under the shadow of China’s aggression. “China’s exports to India jumped from $70 billion in 2018-19 to a record $101 billion in 2023-24, even as India’s exports to China stagnated at $16 billion,” he pointed out.

China is the top supplier to critical industrial sectors like electronics, machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and textiles. India’s MSMEs continue to suffer under the onslaught of cheap Chinese imports, he said.

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