New Delhi, August 6: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a report which stated that the Chinese army had intruded eastern Ladakh in May, earlier than Galwan Clash. The defence ministry officially used the word 'transgressed' instead of 'intrusion' in its report.

Citing the article by Times of India in his tweet, Rahul Gandhi wrote, "Why is PM Modi lying?". Earlier, TOI quoted the new defence ministry document stating, "The Chinese side transgressed in the areas of Kugrang Nala (near Patrolling Point-15, north of Hot Springs), Gogra (PP-17A) and the north bank of Pangong Tso on May 17-18." Nepal Govt, Charged With Favouring China, Says Sino-Indian Relations to Determine 'Future of Asia'.

Here's the tweet by Rahul Gandhi:

In any official statement or document, the word ‘transgression’ — used by India as a euphemism for ‘intrusion’ across the LAC with China — has not found any mention. The word was not mentioned anywhere in the document since the first clash erupted between rival troops on the riverbank of Pangong Tso on May 5-6. However, the document stated that the evolving situation may need prompt action, reports TOI.

Earlier in May-end, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had stated that a sizeable number of Chinese soldiers had 'come a little further than they used to earlier'. Singh went on to add that it should not be 'misinterpreted as if Chinese troops entered the Indian side of the LAC', said the report.

Following the transgression, the first cops commander-level talks took place on June 6 to defuse the situation, but on June 15, violent face-off erupted leading to casualties from both sides. The fifth corp commander-level talks on August 2 failed to reach any conclusion over troop disengagement in the Pangong Tso area, where PLA troops have still occupied the 8-km stretch from May.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 06, 2020 12:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).