Rahul Gandhi: Why did government not insist on status quo ante?

NEW DELHI: A day after the AICC cautiously welcomed the India-China agreement for disengagement of troops at faceoff spots, party leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the contours of the agreement by accusing the Modi government of “overlooking three paramount national interests”.

With this, Gandhi has pitted Congress against the Modi regime and BJP in the larger political quest for tapping and identifying with the national sentiment over the border row and efforts to defuse tension.

Tweeting a copy of the official statements issued by India and China, Gandhi asked: “National interest is paramount. GoI’s duty is to protect it. Then, 1. Why has status quo ante not been insisted on? 2. Why is China allowed to justify the murder of 20 unarmed jawans in our territory? 3. Why is there no mention of the territorial sovereignty of Galwan valley?”


Meanwhile, the CPI Central Secretariat statement termed the agreement as a positive step toward normalising the situation and called for speedy negotiation for attaining status quo ante and peace. “While it is necessary to expedite phased and stepwise de-escalation in the India-China border areas, at the same time both the countries should respect and observe the pre-April status quo at the line of actual control,” it said.