'Not Even One Square Inch Of Land...': Ladakh LG On Claims Of Chinese Intrusion

Responding to claims of Chinese intrusion in Ladakh, Lt Governor BD Mishra said not even one square inch of land has been occupied by China.

Asked about Rahul Gandhi's claim that a large portion of Ladakh has been occupied by China, Lt Governor BD Mishra said he wouldn't comment on anybody's statement but asserted that not even one inch of land was occupied by China. 

He said, "I wouldn't comment on anybody's statement but I will say what is fact because I have seen myself. There is not even one square inch of land which the Chinese have occupied...The statement of fact is that our armed forces are prepared for any eventuality and God forbid if the balloon goes up, people will get bloody nose from us."

"Whatsoever might have happened in 1962 that's immaterial but today we are in occupation of our land to the last inch," he added.

Earlier, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had taken a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the Prime Minister's claim that not an inch of land was taken away in Ladakh was not true. "Here, the concern is of course China has taken away the land... People have said that China's army has entered the area and their grazing land was taken away but PM said that not an inch of land was taken away, but this is not true, you can ask anyone here," he said while he was on a visit to Ladakh last month.

US 'Spoiler' Remark On China

Meanwhile, ahead of the recently concluded G20 Summit in New Delhi, the US had hinted that China was playing the role of a 'spoiler' after Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to skip the global event and the country's foreign ministry said that the delegation would be led by Premier Li Qiang.

When asked about the impact of the India-China border tensions on the summit, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, "As far as the question of tensions between India and China affecting the (G20) summit - really that's up to China. If China wants to come in and play the role of spoiler, of course, that option is available to them. What I think the Chair, India, will encourage them to do what we, the United States and every other member, virtually every other member of the G20 will do, is encourage them to come in, in a constructive way on climate, on multilateral development, bank reform, on debt relief, on technology and set aside the geopolitical questions and really focus on problem-solving and delivering for the developing countries.”