Why has PM Modi given up Indian territory to China? Rahul Gandhi questions govt

Holding a press conference at the Congress headquarters, Gandhi said, "Finger four is our territory, that's where our post used to be. We have now moved from finger four to finger three. Why has PM Modi given up Indian territory to Chinese? This is the question that needs to be answered by him and the Defence Minister."

"It is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to protect the territory of our country," the de facto number two man in Congress said.

Accusing Modi of fearing China, Gandhi said, "Our Army is ready, our Airforce is ready, our Navy is ready but our Prime Minister is not ready to take China on."

Gandhi slammed the Centre a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke on the disengagement of troops of India and China along Pangong Lake, which has witnessed border tensions over the last few months.

Speaking on the issue in Parliament's upper house Rajya Sabha, Singh said, "Our sustained talks with China have led to agreement on disengagement on the north and south banks of Pangong Lake. After this agreement, India-China will remove forward deployments in a phased, coordinated manner."

"I want to assure this House that in these talks we have not conceded anything," he asserted. "The agreement that we have been able to reach with the Chinese side for disengagement in the Pangong lake area envisages that both sides will cease their forward deployments in a phased, coordinated and verified manner," he added.

"These are mutual and reciprocal steps and any structures that had been built by both sides since April 2020 in both North and South Bank area will be removed and the landforms will be restored," the Defence Minister said.

A top Chinese official had said frontline troops of both the nations at the southern and northern bank of the Pangong Tso Lake have started 'synchronized and organized disengagement' from Wednesday.

This move is in accordance with the consensus reached by both sides at the 9th round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting, said Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, in a written statement as quoted by China Military Online.