Congress demands LEMOA agreement contents be made public

The Congress on Tuesday criticised the India-US military logistics agreement, terming it a "fundamental departure from Indias time-tested policy of strategic military neutrality".

The Congress also demanded that the contents of the agreement be placed in public domain or at least shared with the opposition parties.

India and the US signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) agreement in Washington on Monday.

"Signing of LEMOA is a fundamental departure from India's time tested policy of 'strategic military neutrality'. It raises a genuine and grave apprehension regarding India being unwarrantedly drawn into an operational military design in Asia Pacific Region and Middle East," said COngress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Congress also expressed serious concern over jeopardizing India's national, geo global and strategic interests by signing of LEMOA.

"This agreement will also cause serious misgivings, unless explained and justified, among India's traditional partners and time tested allies, regionally and globally," he said.

Surjewala further said: "Modi government has neither explained the reasons which prompted this major shift nor made the contents of the agreement public."

"The contents of the agreement be placed in public domain or at least shared with leadership of opposition parties as this decision has been taken in an opaque manner by stealth as also unilaterally without national consensus," he added.

--IANS

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