'China occupied 1k sq km Indian territory, Defence Minister omitted any mention': Owaisi

AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday once again targeted the Centre over the heightened tension with China. Citing media reports, Owaisi claimed that about 1,000 km of Indian territory has been occupied by the China and he slammed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for not speaking about it in Lok Sabha. He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the PMO should stop withholding information.

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Defence Minister's speech in Lok Sabha

This comes in response to the Defence Minister's speech in Lok Sabha on Tuesday where he affirmed that the Armed Forces were capable of facing any challenge from China. While acknowledging that the situation at the LAC is very different both in terms of the scale of troops involved and the number of friction points, he reiterated India's commitment for a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Observing that the violent conduct of Chinese troops was a violation of all past agreements, he informed the MPs that India has done counter deployments in the area to safeguard the border.

The defence minister added that China is in the illegal occupation of 38,000 sq. km in Ladakh apart from 5,180 sq. km of Indian territory in PoK ceded by Pakistan in 1963. Acknowledging that this is a complex issue, he highlighted that peace and tranquillity in border areas is imperative for the development of the bilateral relationship. He explained that both sides continued to have a differing perception about the LAC over the last many decades. The LAC faceoff was exacerbated when 20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15, followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August.

Owaisi's earlier remarks on Defence Minister

Owaisi had on Tuesday also taken a dig at the defence minister for his speech in the lower house of the parliament. The defence minister had explained that the situation on LAC remains volatile and unresolved as the two nations haven't come to a consensus or any mutually acceptable solutions. Attack this statement Owaisi called it an "abominable joke" in the "name of national security".

Speaking over the Corps commander level talks with the Chinese army, Owaisi opined that it was not Military's job to engage in diplomacy, however, there have always been Military level talks in the past and it has remained one of the many ways of holding talks for de-escalation. Owaisi further demanded daily briefings from the government spokespersons on the faceoff.

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