Take nation into confidence on standoff with China: Congress

Former Union Minister Anand Sharma, in a statement, said: "The situation in Ladakh following incursion by Chinese forces in Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley regions and the standoff between the armies of India and China is a matter of serious national concern."

"The differing accounts in national and international media of escalations and continuing stalemate has caused anxiety among the people of India. The Congress party urges the government of India to take the nation into confidence to address the concern of the people," he added.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said that no one can threaten Narendra Modi's India.

On being asked about the face-off at the Line of Actual Control, he gave a one-liner reply: "No one can dare to stare at Modi's India."

Prasad's reply on the border tension came at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping had on Tuesday ordered his military to scale up the battle preparedness, considering the worst-case scenarios and asked them to resolutely defend the country's sovereignty.

The political slugfest between the BJP and the Congress was triggered by the continuing face-off between India and China in eastern Ladakh after a clash between soldiers from both sides on two occasions. According to reports, Indian and Chinese Army personnel clashed along the northern bank of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh on May 5. Four days later, a face-off between the two sides was witnessed near Naku La Pass in Sikkim.

This is the first major stand-off between India and China after the Doklam episode in 2017 when Indian and Chinese forces saw a major face-off over construction of a road by China.