​​​​​​​Telangana CM KCR dents Cong's India-China spin; says PM Modi 'spoke on our behalf'

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday asserted that his party was 'very happy with the All-Party meeting' addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. The Chief Minister further said that there may be political differences among the parties but they are united by 'patriotism'. The PM also paid rich tributes to the armed forces on behalf of all the Chief Ministers and assured to always protect India's interest, Rao said in his statement released by the CMO.

"We may have differences in our politics but we are united by our patriotism. Prime Minister Spoke on our behalf when he paid tribute to armed forces and assured India's interests will always be protected. We're very happy with all the Party meeting", Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said.

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PM's statement at all-party meet

PM Modi, on Friday, said that none of India's border posts have been captured, nor had China breached the Indian borders. He was at the all-party meeting to brief political parties on the LAC situation. He added that the 20 martyrs died fighting and saving the motherland from the enemy. He also said that the Army has always done whatever is necessary to protect India's sovereignty - be it deployment action or counteraction.

Soon after the PM's statement, the opposition leaders including the likes of Rahul Gandhi, P Chidambaram and Shiv Sena questioned why the Indian soldiers lost their lives if according to the PM no one entered India's borders. The leaders also asked the Government of India to describe the exact border of India after PM Modi 'surrendered' Indian land to the Chinese.

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Centre issues clarification

Releasing a statement on Saturday, the government lashed out at 'some quarters' attempting to give 'mischievous interpretation' to remarks made by PM Modi. The statement said that he had made it clear that "in contrast to past neglect on border issues", Indian forces now counter every violation.

The statement also clarified the question asked by Opposition parties including Congress leaders about the reasons for the Galwan faceoff. "As regard transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on June 15 arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions."

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Galwan valley incident

On the intervening night between June 15 and 16, the Indian Army and Chinese Army personnel were involved in a massive clash instigated by the Chinese, resulting in the martyrdom of at least 20 Indian soldiers, with China taking between 35-45 casualties, as per at least three accounts which Beijing has been tight-lipped about in the guise of 'goodwill'.

On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry claimed that the entire Galwan Valley was a part of Chinese territory. These claims were dashed in a detailed statement by India's Foreign Ministry, which read that China's claims were "exaggerated and untenable" and that it was not in accordance with China's previous position. "We expect that the Chinese side will sincerely follow the understanding reached between the Foreign Ministers to ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, which is so essential for the overall development of our bilateral relations," MEA stated.

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