New Delhi, April 29, 2013-There has been a major divide between the UPA government and the Indian Army over the issue of Chinese troops’ incursions in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
A day after Minister of State for Home Affairs R.P.N. Singh told Headlines Today that no incursion had taken despite the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) camping 19 km deep into Indian territory for nearly two weeks, army sources said on Monday that it was a clear case of intrusion.
The Indian Army’s position is that the particular Chinese incursion was well beyond any perceptual differences along the line of actual control (LoAC). The army says it cannot act in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector since all decisions were being taken by the ministry of external affairs (MEA).
According to sources, the army’s formation commanders have been under instructions not to escalate situation under any circumstances or take unilateral action on ground. There were clear instructions to “let diplomatic process move forward”, sources said.
The army’s unofficial reaction came in the wake of the minister’s surprising remark. Speaking to Headlines Today managing editor Rahul Kanwal, Singh had claimed that around 50 Chinese soldiers camping in four tents did not count as an incursion.
The statement by the junior minister came when his senior termed the area as “no-man’s land” and played down the entire controversy.
