Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tarun Vijay on Monday urged the Union government to reassure the people on “Chinese intrusion” in the border areas.
At a press conference here, Mr. Vijay said that on the 50th anniversary of the war with China, India should engage China with increased might and New Delhi must match Beijing’s military strength and firepower. He expressed concern at the roads built by the Chinese on the border near Milam glacier in Uttarakhand.
On a recent visit to Milam, he said, he found that Indian soldiers had to trek 105 km to the border while the Chinese Army had roads right up to the border and drove up in jeeps.
Even in the Pangong lake area in Ladakh, Mr. Vijay said, he found that the Chinese had 22 state-of-the-art patrol boats. A portion of the lake fell in China and it was well-policed. But the Indians had only two old boats. There were about 147 instances of Chinese “incursion” into the Indian territory in Ladakh and a bridge built by Indians had to be demolished owing to Chinese pressure, he alleged.
The Deputy Commissioner of Ladakh had written to the government demanding protection and action against “intruders,” but the State government was maintaining silence.
Mr. Vijay said while the country paid homage to the brave soldiers of the 1962 war, he said it was a good time to ensure the border regions did not face an exodus.
Some border villages were facing unprecedented exodus. This was a dangerous trend as the Army would need ground support from local people. In Chushul, for example, there was no motorable road and the literacy level was also poor — the first postgraduate from the area passed out only last year. “The village is powered by solar energy and people cannot watch colour TV as a result,” he said.
