Asaduddin Owaisi says ‘new status quo’ created on LAC

Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday said that that “a new status quo has been created on LAC” which “denies our forces access to the areas they traditionally patrolled” and said an all-party parliamentary delegation must be taken to Ladakh to independently study the situation.

In a series of tweets over the outcome of the 13th Senior Commanders Meeting between India and China over the resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, Owaisi said Parliament has not been briefed in detail over the situation nor have questions been taken in an open press conference.

Owaisi said the statements after the latest round of talks with China clearly show “that they’ll continue to remain on Indian territory”.

“Sad that a new status quo has been created on LAC. This denies our forces access to the areas they traditionally patrolled. This loss of control over our territory to China has been on for 20 months, but Parliament has not been briefed in detail nor have questions been taken in an open press conference,” he said.

The AIMIM leader accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being “silent” on the issue.

“Citizens need to know the full truth. An all-party parliamentary delegation must be taken to Ladakh to independently study the situation. There must be a full debate in Parliament,” he said.

He alleged that the government was resorting to “half-truths” and “there’s no real plan to deal with Chinese aggression”.

“We need to know if govt even has a strategy when Chinese ‘visit’ Uttarakhand or Arunachal again. Is it going to be more of the same? Bottom line is that the current situation is unacceptable, and the blame solely lies on Modi govt. Our soldiers and our country deserve better,” he said.

The 13th round of the India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on October 10.

The Defence Ministry said in a statement that during the meeting the discussions between the two sides focussed on resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

The Indian side pointed out that the situation along the LAC had been caused by unilateral attempts of Chinese side to alter the status quo and in violation of the bilateral agreements.

“The Indian side emphasised such resolution of the remaining areas would facilitate progress in the bilateral relations. During the meeting, the Indian side, therefore, made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas but the Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas,” the statement said.

The two sides have agreed to maintain communications and also to maintain stability on the ground.