Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday advocated aggressive steps to take back the Galwan Valley territory seized by the Chinese, urging the Indian government to issue an ultimatum to Beijing to vacate the occupied land immediately.
“While India would also have to suffer some consequences of such an act, it could no longer afford to allow such intrusions and attacks on its territorial integrity to continue,” said Captain Amarinder, talking informally to journalists at the Chandigarh air base where he had gone to pay tributes to the three sepoys whose mortal remains were flown in from Galwan Valley.
Laying a wreath on the mortal remains of Sepoys Gurbinder Singh from Sangrur, Gurtej Singh from Mansa and Ankush from Hamirpur (Himachal), he saluted their supreme sacrifice.
Declaring himself to be totally against following an appeasement policy viz-a-viz China, Capt. Amarinder said past experience showed that when faced with aggression, the Chinese had always backed off. “It was time to call their bluff,” he said, reiterating that every Indian wants a befitting response to be given to the Chinese.
The Chinese, with their Salami tactics, had been nibbling into Indian territory piece by piece since 1962, said the Chief Minister, demanding an end to these intrusions, which 60 years of diplomacy had failed to stop.
Questioning the so-called agreement which prevented the Indian troops from firing (even if they had the weapons), Capt. Amarinder demanded to know who had come up with such an agreement. “How can one have an agreement of this nature with a hostile neighbour?” he quipped.
In any case, it was clear that the attack on Indian soldiers was a premeditated one by the Chinese, who had come prepared with their crude but deadly weapons, he said, adding that by carrying the nail studded lathis and barbed-wire clubs and by attacking our troops they had abrogated whatever agreement was in place. In the circumstances, the Indian soldiers had full right to retaliated by using their own weapons, he said, adding that India alone could not be responsible for adherence to the terms of the agreement.
‘Stop it at all costs’
“If the situation is allowed to escalate further, then China, in collusion with Pakistan, would get further emboldened to encroach into more Indian territories, which had to be stopped at all costs,” said the Chief Minister.
