New Delhi: After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi posted a video on twitter related to the unarmed 20 Indian Army troops, who were killed in violent clash at the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh on India-China border, Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar has stepped into the virtual discussion to explain the same to him.
Union external affairs minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar tweeted, “Let us get the facts straight,” began Jaishankar’s response to the tweet. He said that all troops who are on border duty “always carry arms, especially when leaving post”.
“Those at Galwan on 15 June did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 and 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs,” he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wondered in his tweet, “How dare China kill our UNARMED soldiers?”
He asked, “Why were our soldiers sent UNARMED to martyrdom?”
The clash between the two armies in which both sides suffered casualties on Monday began at around 7 pm in the Galwan Valley when an Indian Army squad of about 50 soldiers, led by Colonel Santosh Babu, reached a contested site near what is known as Patrol Point 14, people familiar with the developments said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in his first comments said India is capable of giving a befitting reply if provoked, has called an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border. Presidents of various political parties will participate in the meeting at 5 pm on Friday via video, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
—– Vijay Singh Thakur