Chinese incursion along Uttarakhand border figures in LS

The opposition Congress, Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress on Thursday raised in the Lok Sabha the incursion by Chinese troops along the Uttarakhand border earlier this month.

Jyotiraditya Scindia of the Congress and others raised the issue during zero hour.

Scindia said the incursion took place near Chamoli and the Chinese troops had come around 200 metres into Indian territory.

"There were reports that the Chinese troops had also misbehaved with the local revenue department official in the area," the Congress lawmaker alleged.

Scindia said this was not one of a kind incident as such incursions were also reported in Uttarakhand in 2014.

Moreover, Chinese troops have also previuosly tried to cross over to the Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh, he alleged.

Supporting the concern of the Congress member, Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy demanded a statement by the Home Minister or the Defence Minister.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav said the Indian government needed to be more careful and cautious about China's intentions.

"I have always cautioned about China," he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Uttarakhand MP B.S.Koshiyari, also said that the matter was "serious".

However, he insisted that it would not be proper to blame only the central government if at all such incursions had taken place.

"The local state government too has its role on these matters," he said.

"Chinese people do come to the border areas from time to time but they go back when confronted by Indian security personnel," Koshiyari added.

Responding to the agitated members, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the government is firm that "it will not spare any action" to protect the country's international borders.

--IANS

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