New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday questioned why Indian soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom” in Ladakh and who is responsible for sending them towards danger.
He also asked how dare China kill the Indian soldiers.
His fresh attack came a day after he asked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh why he did not name China in his tweet and why it took him two days to condole the deaths of 20 Army personnel.
“China has committed a big crime by killing unarmed Indian soldiers. I want to ask who sent these bravehearts towards danger without arms and why. Who is responsible for this,” he asked in a video message.
“How dare China kill our UNARMED soldiers? Why were our soldiers sent UNARMED to martyrdom,” he said.
Gandhi also shared on Twitter an interview of a retired Army officer who has worked in the area where the India-China violent stand-off took place on Monday night.
The former Congress president has been questioning the government over the martyrdom of Indian soldiers and has demanded answers from the prime minister.
On Wednesday, he asked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh why did he “insult” the Army by not naming China over the killing of Indian soldiers in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.
“If it was so painful: Why insult Indian Army by not naming China in your tweet? Why take 2 days to condole? Why address rallies as soldiers were being martyred,” he said.
Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.
In the 1967 India-China clash in Nathu La, India lost around 80 soldiers while over 300 Chinese army personnel were killed.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.
On Wednesday morning, the defence minister tweeted, “The loss of soldiers in Galwan is deeply disturbing and painful. Our soldiers displayed exemplary courage and valour in the line of duty and sacrificed their lives in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.”
Indian troops on border duty carry arms: Jaishankar to Rahul
New Delhi: All Indian troops guarding the border with China carry arms, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday, replying to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s poser that why Army personnel in Galwan Valley were sent “unarmed to martyrdom”.
The minister said armies of the two sides do not use firearms as per provisions of two bilateral agreements sealed in 1996 and 2005.
“Let us get the facts straight. All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post. Those at Galwan on 15 June did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs,” Jaishankar tweeted.
Earlier, Gandhi questioned why Indian soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom” in Ladakh and who is responsible for sending them towards danger. He also asked how China dared to kill the Indian soldiers.
Twenty Indian Army personnel including a Colonel were killed in the fierce clash between the two armies in Galwan Valley on Monday evening. China has not yet released any casualty figures.
