India wants revenge against China: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar at all-party meet

There is outrage across the country against China's "dastardly act" in Ladakh and the nation is united in its desire for revenge, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Friday. Kumar made the remarks at the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), PTI reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an all-party virtual meeting to discuss the situation in India-China border areas.

Janata Dal-United (JDU) chief Nitish Kumar urged the parties to shun their differences to support the Centre and cautioned that any disunity can be used as an opportunity by other nations.

"There is nationwide anger against China. There should be no differences among us. We are together. The parties should not show any disunity that can be explored by other nations. China's stand on India is known. India wanted to give respect to China. But what did China do in 1962?" Kumar said, according to ANI.

Paying tributes to the 20 Army personnel who lost their lives in a face-off with Chinese troops at the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh, he pointed out that five of them hailed from Bihar.

Kumar asserted that the entire nation is united under the leadership of the prime minister on the issue which involved the country's integrity and on which political parties have kept differences aside.

"We grew up hearing slogans of 'Hindi Chini bhai bhai'. But despite India's efforts to have good relations with the neighbouring country, the latter's response has always left much to be desired," he said. "China's action has led to a situation wherein the entire nation is yearning for revenge. There is outrage over the incident," Kumar added.

The JD(U) chief alleged that the Covid-19 pandemic was caused by a virus that originated in a "biological lab in China's Wuhan", and seems to be an unnatural organism on account of its being immune to changes in temperature, climate and topography. The chief minister also sought a review of past trade agreements with China so that import of items manufactured in the neighbouring country was restricted.

"Toys manufactured in China have a high amount of plastic and therefore pose ecological hazards. Besides, it's cheap electronic goods are contributing enormously to electronic waste," he said.

"If China is insulting us, we must not take it lying down. If it has plans of capturing a territory falling in India, it must be told resoundingly that this will not be allowed. We all are with the Centre on this issue," Kumar added.

The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP chief JP Nadda.

The leaders who took part in the meeting include Congress President Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
 

The Prime Minister and leaders also paid tributes to soldiers who lost their lives in the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.

Twenty Indian soldiers lost their lives in the face-off which happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in the violent clash.