Congress says will wait for details on China disengagement, blames PM for weakening India’s position with statement in June 2020

Congress takes a swipe at Prime Minister Modi, says ‘Kazan beckons but Manipur awaits’

Hours after the Ministry of External Affairs announced a breakthrough in the border disengagement process with China, the Congress took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by claiming that his 2020 remarks had “weakened India’s position immeasurably”.

The party also said that Parliament was never allowed to discuss the issue.

“While we await fuller details of the agreement reached between India and China, it is pertinent to recall that Parliament was not allowed an opportunity for a discussion on the border situation even once these past four-and-a-half years,” Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X on Monday (October 21, 2024).

“And can the nation ever forget these remarks made by the non-biological PM on June 19, 2020, which weakened us immeasurably?” Mr. Ramesh added, tagging Mr. Modi’s statement made at an all-party meeting after the Galwan clashes.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister had asserted that neither anyone has taken control over any Indian post nor does anyone remain inside the Indian territory.

“We await the details about the details of the arrangement that has been agreed upon with China. The foreign secretary’s language was cryptic. Let’s hope that while restoring Indian patrolling rights, it doesn’t allow the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] access to areas it was not coming to earlier,” All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi said in a post.

Stating the need to know the terms of agreement on the border area, he added: “This should not be a repeat of what we witnessed in Doklam after 2017 where the PLA gained permanent presence in the area. Unless full details are made available, it is hard to be certain of the outcome.”

In a separate post, Mr. Ramesh also took a swipe at the Prime Minister a day before he leaves for the BRICS Summit in Russia. He said Kazan certainly beckons but “sadly Manipur still awaits”.

Mr. Modi will attend the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan beginning on Tuesday (October 22, 2024), following an invitation by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Tomorrow the BRICS plus Summit begins in Kazan, Russia. Like most things the non-biological PM claims credit for, there is a solid pre-2014 history to such a Summit,” Mr. Ramesh.

Giving out the history of the grouping, the Congress leader pointed out that in November 2001 the British economist Jim O’Neill first coined the term BRIC — Brazil, Russia, India and China — to draw attention to a quartet that could become major economic powers of the world by 2050.

In June 2009, the presidents of China, Brazil, Russia and the Prime Minister of India met in Russia for the first ever BRIC Summit and South Africa was included in the group two years later when BRIC became BRICS, Mr. Ramesh said.

He also added that New Delhi hosted the BRICS Summit in March 2012 and went on to point out that BRICS now includes Egypt, Iran, UAE, and Ethiopia as full members.

“A number of other countries are waiting to join. The New Development Bank formally launched by BRICS in July 2014 is headquartered in Shanghai. Kazan certainly beckons but sadly Manipur still awaits,” Mr. Ramesh added.

The Congress has repeatedly urged the Prime Minister to visit violence-hit Manipur, stressing that it would help restore peace and normalcy there.

Published - October 21, 2024 10:27 pm IST