No satisfactory explanation from govt on why this is right time to normalise ties with China: Congress

"Our statement on the 'normalisation' of an extremely abnormal Indo-China relationship. The Modi Government owes the nation answers to six questions," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday posed several questions to the government on ties with China, asking whether status quo was restored as on May 2020 at the border in eastern Ladakh and if Indian troops could access areas that had become out of bound.

In a statement, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the party notes the announcement by the Narendra Modi government of normalisation of ties with China at a time when there are still many unanswered questions about the disengagement agreement of October 21, 2024.

"New Delhi and Beijing have agreed to restore commercial and cultural ties including direct flights between the two capitals, resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, liberalised visa regime and other measures following the recent Beijing visit of the Foreign Secretary.

"The Modi government has not yet satisfactorily explained to the country why this is the right time to normalise relations with China. Ever since the Chinese occupied 2,000 sq km of territory in eastern Ladakh that had been accessed by Indian patrols until May 2020, the people and the Armed Forces of the country have held that the Government of India must insist on a restoration of the status quo ante as it stood prior to that," he said in his statement.

Ties between India and China had deteriorated after bloody clashes between the troops of both countries at the Galwan valley in early May 2020 in which several soldiers were killed on both sides.

"Our statement on the 'normalisation' of an extremely abnormal Indo-China relationship. The Modi Government owes the nation answers to six questions," Ramesh said in a post on X, while sharing his statement.

Quoting Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, who had remarked "We want to go back to the status quo of April 2020... thereafter we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation and normal management of the LAC," Ramesh said, "Yet successive statements by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) casts doubt on whether we have returned to the status quo." Recalling External Affairs Minister's statement in Parliament on 3 December 2024 that "in a few other places where friction occurred in 2020, temporary and limited measures were implemented, based on local conditions, to prevent further friction", Ramesh said this clearly alludes to the creation of "buffer zones," areas where our troops and local graziers are now restricted from accessing, despite previously having access.

"These seemingly one-sided concessions are unlike previous confrontations, including Sudorong Chu in 1986 and Depsang in 2013, that ended after the complete restoration of the status quo.

"These measures appear to be a continuation of the pusillanimity that led the Prime Minister to falsely claim: "Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai", and attitude that gave the Chinese opportunity to drag out the negotiations for four long years. Even as critical areas appear off-limits to our troops, this so-called normalisation will only amplify the trends whose only beneficiaries appear to be the Prime Minister's cronies and financiers," the Congress leader said.

Ramesh said instead of reducing our dependence on China, the Modi government has allowed Chinese exports to India to jump from USD 70 billion in 2018-19 to a record USD 102 billion in 2023-24, and are likely to go even higher in 2024-25.

Even as Indian exports stagnate, China has emerged as the top supplier to critical industrial sectors like electronics, machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and textiles, he said.

Meanwhile, he said, all that the external affairs minister can do is to throw his hands up and say: "Look, they are the bigger economy. What am I going to do? As a smaller economy, am I going to pick up a fight with the bigger economy?" "We therefore restate our earlier questions to the Prime Minister, which must be answered before normalisation with China can be attempted: Will Indian troops be able to patrol up to our claim line in Depsang to five patrolling points past the Bottleneck junction as they were able to earlier? Will our troops be able to reach the three patrolling points in Demchok that have remained out of bounds for more than four years," he asked.

Ramesh further asked whether our soldiers will continue to be restricted to Finger 3 in Pangong Tso when earlier they could go as far as Finger 8 and are our patrols permitted to access the three patrolling points in the Gogra-Hot Springs area that they could earlier go up to.

"Will Indian graziers once again be given the right to access traditional grazing grounds in Helmet Top, Mukpa Re, Rezang La, Rinchen La, Table Top and Gurung Hill in Chushul? Are the "buffer zones" that our government ceded to the Chinese, which included the site of a memorial in Rezang La to war hero and posthumous Param Vir Chakra awardee Major Shaitan Singh, now a thing of the past," he asked.

India and China on Monday decided to resume Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and agreed in principle to restore direct flights as the two sides announced several measures to "rebuild" bilateral ties over two-and-a-half months after their militaries completed disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh.

The decisions were announced after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held wide-ranging talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong in Beijing.