'Modi govt will not allow anyone to capture even an inch of our land': Amit Shah on India-China border clash in Tawang

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday (December 13, 2022) said that no one can capture even an inch of Indian land till the Narendra Modi government is in power. Speaking after the clashes between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector, he said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will not allow any incursion on Indian land.

"BJP government will not allow any incursion on land. We will not leave an inch of land. The bravery shown by soldiers is appreciable, they have saved our land," he said.

Seeking to turn the tables on the Congress as the opposition party has been targeting the Modi government over its handling of the border dispute with China, the BJP leader claimed that India lost its membership of the United Nations Security Council because of the personal relationship its leaders had with foreign leaders. 

He said that the actual reason behind the Congress disrupting Lok Sabha proceedings was not the clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers but a question on the cancellation of FCRA registration of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. 

Shah also said that if the Question Hour, which was a washout following the opposition's protest, had continued, then he would have told the House that the RGF's Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration was cancelled as it got Rs 1.35 crore from the Chinese embassy for research related to development of the Sino-India relationship while its registration is for social work.

Shah said since the RGF might already have conducted the research, have it included the issue of the occupation of thousands of hectares of Indian land by China in 1962?

"If research is conducted on this subject then what is the outcome of it," he told reporters.

#WATCH | Today there is a BJP government in the country. As long as our govt is there no one can capture even an inch of land. I salute the valour shown by our Indian Army troops on the intervening night of December 8-9 (in Arunachal Pradesh): Union Home Minister Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/hsBTJv8dcN — ANI (@ANI) December 13, 2022

He asked whether the Congress also researched issues like Jawaharlal Nehru "sacrificing" India's seat in the United Nations Security Council, denial of visa by China to the then Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Dorjee Khandu and issuing of staple visa to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

Shah also alleged that when the Indian soldiers were fighting the Chinese PLA at Galwan, someone from the Congress was throwing a dinner for an official of the Chinese embassy and asked why work on vital infrastructure projects was stalled in 2012 following a threat from China.

Shah's statement came ahead of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh telling the Parliament that the Chinese troops tried to "unilaterally" change the status quo along the LAC in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector last week. Singh said that the Indian Army compelled them to retreat by its "firm and resolute" response. 

My Statement in Rajya Sabha
https://t.co/Ju3Zyp4DhM — Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 13, 2022

In similar statements in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Singh said there were "no fatalities" or serious injuries to the Indian soldiers and that the clash led to injuries to a few personnel on both sides.