'Has India-China border dispute resolved?' Congress on EAM's claim

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday asked the Union government whether a consensus between India and China on the border dispute has been reached, pouncing on the foreign minister's claim that more ''mere pleasantries'' were exchanged between the two countries leaders in Bali last November.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also asked whether Chinese troops from Depsang and Demchok in Ladakh will now be withdrawn. His questions came a day after the External Affairs Ministry claimed that more than mere courtesies were exchanged between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China President Xi Jinping at Bali G20 Meet in November 2022.

''Ever since Prime Minister's public clean chit to China on June 19th, 2020, the Modi government has been acting as if it is being tough on China, and that there have been no compromises or meaningful conversations between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping while Chinese troops remain in violation of previous LAC agreements,'' Ramesh said on Twitter. On November 16, 2022, he said, the Modi government characterised a dinner conversation between the two leaders at Bali as just an ''exchange of courtesies.'' On July 25, 2023, he claimed that a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement mentioned an ''important consensus'' reached by PM Modi and President Xi in Bali.

''On July 27, our Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that more than mere courtesies were exchanged at Bali. Is this a consensus or a concession by PM Modi? Will Chinese troops finally withdraw from Depsang and Demchok where they have blocked Indian patrols for more than three years,'' Ramesh asked.

Meanwhile, he claimed that economic relations between the two countries are proceeding ''as if the Chinese incursions in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh never even happened.'' ''So much for 'lal aankh'!'' the Congress leader said.

The Congress has been critical of the government's handling of the border dispute with China.