Arvind Kejriwal's 'everything is alright' dig at Centre over China clash

Kejriwal said while Chinese aggression is increasing at the border, the BJP-led Centre says "everything is alright".

New Delhi, Dec 18: Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday hit out at the Narendra Modi government over the recent faceoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.

Addressing the party's National Council meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal said while Chinese aggression is increasing at the border, the BJP-led Centre says "everything is alright".

Instead of "punishing" China, the Modi government is "rewarding Beijing" by allowing high volumes of imports from the country even though many Indian soldiers put their lives on the line while fighting Chinese troops, he charged. "Don't you have any respect for our soldiers? Show some courage. China will come to its senses if India stops imports," Kejriwal said.

He also appealed to the nation to boycott Chinese products. "They say Chinese products are cheap. We do not want Chinese products even if it is cheap. We are ready to buy made-in-India products even if it costs us double," he added.

India and Chinese soldiers clashed along the LAC last Friday amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.

The Tawang incident is the first major clash between the India and the Chinese armies since August 2020 near Rinchen La in eastern Ladakh. Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in October last year as well and it was resolved following talks between local commanders of the two sides according to established protocols.

The ties between India and China nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry.

India has been maintaining that its relationship with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. India has been ramping up the development of infrastructure along the near 3,500-km LAC following the eastern Ladakh standoff that began in 2020.