Rahul Gandhi claims 'India is vulnerable' citing article on LAC row; Army busts fake news

On Wednesday, ex-Congress president Rahul Gandhi landed in soup after he cited a newspaper article to claim that India is "vulnerable" amid the LAC faceoff. The article dated July 13 claimed that the Chinese troops had again crossed the border at several places with at least one clash between the two sides taking place. Strongly rebutting the article, the Indian Army stated that it had inaccuracies and misinformation such as the argument that "agreements with China have collapsed". 

In a statement, the Indian Army noted, "Ever since the disengagement agreement in February this year, there has been no attempt by either side to occupy the areas from where the dis-engagement had been undertaken. There have been no clashes in Galwan or any other area, as reported in the article. The intention of the reporter is malafide and not based on any truth."

Moreover, it added that both countries have continued regular patrolling in respective areas along with negotiations to resolve the balance issues. At the same time, the Army affirmed that all PLA activities including turnover of troops continue to be monitored. Earlier too, it had rubbished a news report which alleged that a minor face-off between Indian and Chinese troops took place at the Galwan Valley in the first week of May. 

The LAC faceoff

The faceoff at the Line of Actual Control was exacerbated when 21 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020, when the de-escalation process was underway. This was followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August. Multiple rounds of military commander-level and WMCC meetings have taken place between the two sides to resolve the crisis. Besides this, EAM S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have met their respective counterparts.

So far, the armies of India and China have disengaged from two places, including north and south of Pangong Tso. Recently, the MEA hit back at China for claiming that India was responsible for the ongoing tensions along the LAC. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lijian Zhao had asserted that the deployment of the PLA was a response to "encroachment" and the increased military presence of India. However, the MEA made it clear that China's attempt to unilaterally change the status quo along the border has disturbed the peace in the region.