Get facts straight: Jaishankar to Rahul

NEW DELHI: Indian soldiers at the face-off site on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were armed but according to previous agreements between India and China, did not use weapons against the aggressors, foreign minister S Jaishankar said in a comeback to Congress’s Rahul Gandhi questioning why the Indian soldiers were unarmed.
“Let us get the facts straight. All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving the post. Those at Galwan on June 15 did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 and 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during face-offs,” Jaishankar said.
Rahul had earlier tweeted, “How dare China kill our unarmed soldiers? Why were our soldiers sent unarmed to martyrdom?” The 1996 agreement was signed during the H D Deve Gowda government and the 2005 one during UPA-1 led by Manmohan Singh.
Posing aggressive questions to the Modi government, Rahul asked who was responsible for sending unarmed soldiers in harm’s way. In a video message in Hindi, he said, “China has committed a ghastly crime by killing unarmed Indian soldiers. I want to ask who sent these brave men into the arms of danger without weapons and why? Who is responsible?”
The comment came a day after Rahul accused PM Narendra Modi of “hiding” in the wake of the Chinese assault and urged him to “not be scared” and tell the country what had happened. Congress president Sonia Gandhi too had asked the PM to come forth and tell the truth about the Chinese aggression and encroachment on Indian territory.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the BJP government of surrendering before China.
“Our 20 soldiers have died. In such a situation, the Centre should give a strong message but by giving the contract for Delhi-Meerut semi high-speed rail corridor to a Chinese company, the Centre has adopted the strategy of surrendering. Many Indian companies are capable of constructing this corridor,” she tweeted.