Was there intelligence failure on situation along LAC with China: Sonia Gandhi asks govt at all-party meet

New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday asked the government whether there was any intelligence failure on the situation along the LAC where 20 army personnel were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops, and sought an assurance from the prime minister that status quo ante would be restored at the border and China will revert to its original position.

In her introductory remarks at an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Gandhi posed a set of questions to the government, asking specifics about when Chinese troops intruded into the Indian territory in Ladakh and whether the country’s external intelligence agencies did not report any unusual activity there.

“The question is, what next? What is the way forward? The entire country would like an assurance that the status quo ante would be restored and China will revert to the original position on the Line of Actual Control,” she said.

Gandhi alleged that valuable time was lost between May 5 and June 6 and the government failed to use all avenues of talks to ease the situation and the result was the loss of 20 lives as well as injury to dozens of personnel.

She also asked about the current status of the Mountain Strike Corps, with two mountain infantry divisions, that was sanctioned in 2013. “Should the government not treat it with utmost priority,” she asked.