‘Make it harder for India to…’: Congress reacts to Amit Shah’s ‘clean chit’ to China on encroachment

The Congress party on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi government of giving “clean chit” to Beijing after Union home minister Amit Shah claimed that China couldn’t encroach a “single inch” of land under the current government.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Modi government makes it harder for India to deal with China’s illegal encroachment each time the BJP “gives a clean chit” to the neighbouring country.

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s four-year-old statement following an all-party meeting in the aftermath of the Galwan clash, Jairam Ramesh said his “lie was used by the Chinese all over the world to deny their encroachments onto Indian territory.”

“Now, the only man who can give the Prime Minister competition in lying and falsifying facts – his Home Minister – has also given a clean chit to China,” said Ramesh, Congress in charge of communications.

Addressing an election rally in Assam’s Lakhimpur, Amit Shah asserted that China couldn’t encroach a “single inch” of land under the Narendra Modi government.

“During the Chinese aggression of 1962, Jawaharlal Nehru had said ‘bye-bye’ to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. People of these states can never forget that,” Shah said.

“But now what changed is that under the Narendra Modi government, China could not encroach even a single inch of our land. In Doklam, we stood firm against them for 45 days and forced them to retreat,” he added.

Reacting to Shah’s remarks, Ramesh said on X, “Each time the BJP gives a clean chit to China, they make it harder for India to deal with China’s illegal encroachment.”

“China has occupied 2,000 sq km of Indian soil. China has taken over 26 out of 65 patrolling points in Ladakh. China has built complete villages 50-60km deep inside Arunachal Pradesh, a fact confirmed by satellite imagery and raised by BJP MP Tapir Gao on the floor of the Lok Sabha,” the Congress leader said.

He reiterated Congress’s commitment to addressing the issue head-on and outlined the party’s plans to strengthen India’s defence against external threats.

“In our Nyay-Patra, the Congress Party has clearly acknowledged the occupation of land and the threat posed by China, and articulated a clear plan to strengthen our defence. From June 4 onwards, the Chinese encroachment on Indian soil will be halted decisively,” Ramesh said.

India and China have been holding military and diplomatic level talks on achieving disengagement in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) amid no signs of any breakthrough in resolving the standoff that began almost four years ago. Despite four rounds of disengagement from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), the Indian and Chinese armies still have tens of thousands of troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre. Problems at Depsang and Demchok are still on the negotiating table.