Was there intelligence failure? Sonia Gandhi asks PM Modi on China stand-off

New Delhi, June 19: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday sought an assurance from the government that status quo will be restored on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Galwan Valley in Ladakh area and that China will revert to its original position.

In her address at the all-party meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Gandhi posed a set of questions to the government, asking specifics about when Chinese troops intruded into the Indian territory in Ladakh and whether the country's external intelligence agencies did not report any unusual activity there.

"The question is, what next? What is the way forward? The entire country would like an assurance that the status quo ante would be restored and China will revert to the original position on the Line of Actual Control," she said.

Gandhi alleged that valuable time was lost between May 5 and June 6 and the government failed to use all avenues of talks to ease the situation and the result was the loss of 20 lives as well as injury to dozens of personnel.

She also asked about the current status of the Mountain Strike Corps, with two mountain infantry divisions, that was sanctioned in 2013. "Should the government not treat it with utmost priority," she asked.