New Delhi, June 18: Union minister Ramdas Athawale has said all restaurants and hotels that sell Chinese food in India should be closed down and products made in China should be boycotted. His comments come after 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in a violent clash with the Chinese army in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

"China is a country that betrays. India should boycott all products that are made in China. Chinese food and all restaurants and hotels that sell Chinese food in India should be closed down," Athawale, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said in a tweet. Ramdas Athawale Chants 'Go Corona, Go Corona' Against Coronavirus, Video Goes Viral.

Ramdas Athawale's Tweet

Twenty Indian Army personnel including a colonel were killed in a fierce clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.

He also paid tribute to the martyred soldiers.

"20 soldiers of India have been killed in violent clashes in Galwan of Ladakh. Humble tribute to the soldiers! The martyrdom of the soldiers will not go in vain. The government of India and all Indians stand with the families of the martyred soldiers!," Athawale tweeted in Hindi.

Earlier in March, Athawale was in the news when his video along with Chinese Consul General in Mumbai Tang Guocai and Buddhist monks chanting 'Go corona, go corona' at a prayer meet had gone viral on social media.

The video was reportedly shot at Gateway of India on February 20 during a prayer session to stop the spread of the coronavirus.