"Government ran away from questions...": Surjewala on Jaishankar's statement on India-China border area developments

New Delhi [India], December 5 : Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday accused the government of "running away from questions" following External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's statement in Rajya Sabha over recent developments in the India China border areas.
Surjewala said opposition members wanted to ask clarifications from the government following the statemement.
"The Prime Minister said on 19th June 2020 that no one has entered the country's borders. If no one has entered, then what is the reason for this compromise that took place on 21st October 2024? If no one has entered, then why did the military commanders talk 21 times and the common mechanism talks took place 17 times? What talks did the country's External Affairs Minister and Defence Minister have to their Chinese counterparts?" he asked.
"China has occupied 2000 km of land. How much square kilometres of land has been taken back? Can the government say it with full responsibility that the status of April 2020 has been taken back status quo ante? The third question is that there are various patrolling points. There are 26 such patrolling points where even today, according to the sources, we are not able to do patrolling there. How will our army be able to go to those patrolling points and what will the government do about it?" he added.
Surjewala said China is ramping up its infrastructure along the border.
"The fourth question is about Chinese infrastructure. China built a bridge on the Pangong Tso Lake, built about 100 new buildings there and military infrastructure. This directly affects the Sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. The government ran away from questions. No clarification was given. The government has refused to share the details with the Parliament or the country. The government is avoiding to comment on Chinese actions on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India," he said.
Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar on Wednesday expressed his dismay over the conduct of opposition members as they insisted, despite his ruling, on clarifications over Jaishankar's statement on recent developments in the India-China border areas.
"Time and again, I have invited the attention of Hon'ble Members to the fact that we are being watched by the entire nation. Our demeanour is causing a serious dilution of the institution. When I refer every time to the kind of indecorous behaviour seen and the kind of body language reflected, it doesn't earn me any accolades. But I do it only to restore, Hon'ble Members, your dignity," he said.
"I want you to kindly contribute and believe in some kind of rules. I would request the Members, please interact amongst yourselves outside the House. Evolve some kind of a consensus. There are issues of security, of national importance, where we need to exhibit exemplary conduct," he added.
The Chairman said that the External Affairs Minister had made a comprehensive statement.In his remarks, Jaishankar said that the maintenance of peace and tranquility in border areas is a pre-requisite for the development of bilateral ties with China.
"In the coming days, we will be discussing both de-escalation as well as effective management of our activities in the border areas," he said.
The minister said that conclusion of the disengagement phase "now allows us to consider other aspects of our bilateral engagement in a calibrated manner, keeping our national security interests first and foremost".
Jaishankar said that in his recent meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, they reached an understanding that the Special Representatives and the Foreign Secretary level mechanisms will be convening soon. He made a similar statement in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.