MPs demand PM's statement over Chinese incursion in Ladakh

A section of Parliamentarians has demanded a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the floor of the House sharing factual details on the Chinese intrusion and camping in eastern Ladakh on April 15.

The demand came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India had a plan to deal with Chinese intrusion in eastern Ladakh, which he described as a localised event.
Those who made the demand in the Lok Sabha on Monday include former defence minister and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav who was supported by Trinamool Congress and BJD.

Yadav charged the government with failing to act against the Chinese despite the intrusion. “When the Army chief himself says the troops are ready to respond, why is the government not issuing instructions to it? They (China) insulted us in 1962. They are insulting us now,” Yadav said, claiming China occupied one lakh square km of Indian territory.

On Saturday, Singh said New Delhi did not wish to accentuate the situation and had a plan to deal with the China crisis. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is scheduled to visit Beijing next month to discuss ways of tackling the crisis.

The SP chief objected to Khurshid's upcoming visit to Beijing, reminding the government of the vow taken in the wake of the 1962 war that India will not hold any talk with China till it returns “every inch” of India’s land.

Meanwhile, India's top military commanders will take stock of the China situation in a unified commander's conference here on Tuesday. Though India is not considering any military options, the service chiefs have discussed those options with Defence Minister A K Antony. Army's Leh-based 14 Corps has been put on high alert.

More information will be shared with Parliamentarians on Tuesday as Defence Ministry officials are likely to brief the Parliamentary Standing Committee on defence on the Chinese intrusion and subsequent action taken by India.

The second meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee within four days comes in the wake of the panel’s displeasure on the quality and quantity of information shared during the first meeting on Friday.

Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma told Parliamentarians that the Chinese entered 19 km inside Indian territory. However, precisely from which starting point such a calculation was made is unclear as,  going by India's perception and the maps drawn by the British, several boundaries of the area exist.