India-China Face-Off: P Chidambaram Sees Contradictions Between Statements of PM Narendra Modi And Indian Army, Defence, Foreign Ministers on Galwan Clash

New Delhi, June 20: Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday raised doubts on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the Galwan Valley clash in Ladakh, alleging that his statements don't match with the previous ones made by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. Chidambaram also questioned the subject matter of negotiations between Corps commanders of India and China on June 5 and 6.

Raising doubts on PM Modi's statements during the all-party meeting, Chidambaram said, "At the all-party meeting, the PM said, 'No outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh.' It is quite obvious that the PM’s statement contradicts the earlier statements made by the Army Chief, the Defence Minister & the Foreign Minister." All-Party Meet: PM Narendra Modi Says China 'Neither Intruded Into Indian Territory Nor Occupied Any Post'.

Adding more, he asked, "If no Chinese troops crossed LAC and are in our territory,what was ‘face-off’ on May 5-6? Between May 5 and June 6, what was issue on which Indian commanders were talking to their Chinese counterparts? What was subject matter of negotiations between Corps Commanders of India and China?"

Here what P Chidambaram said:

Among other things, the former Union Finance Minister even pointed out on the issue of boycotting Chinese goods. He said, "We must become self-reliant as much as possible but we can't decouple with the rest of the world. India must continue to part of the global supply chain & not boycott Chinese goods. What part of Chinese trade with India is China's world trade? It's a fraction."

He even added, "So boycotting Chinese goods will not hurt the China's economy. We should not bring issues like boycott when we are discussing very grave matters like the defence of India."

Here's what Chidambaram said:

Earlier on Friday, PM Modi responded to the Opposition queries related to alleged Chinese transgression during the all-party meeting and rejected the charge that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) troopers intruded into Indian territory. He further claimed that no border post of Indian Army has been occupied.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 20, 2020 01:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).