Indians on ‘treasure hunt’ over Galwan skirmish, need answers: Chidambaram

Congress leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram while appreciating the pull-back of the Chinese Army from Galwan Valley, has asked the government to specify the areas from which they have disengaged and their current position.

“I welcome the disengagement and pull back by Chinese troops. Will someone tell us the place from which the Chinese troops disengaged and the place in which they are now,” he tweeted on Wednesday (July 8).

Chidambaram’s tweet comes close on the heels of the pullback of both Chinese and Indian armies from the contested Galwan Valley which on June 15 saw a bloody faceoff in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

Asking whether any of the troops moved from one side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to the other side, Chidambaram said the answers were necessary as people are on a “treasure hunt” to find out the exact details of the June 15 skirmish.

“Similarly which is the place from which Indian troops disengaged? Did any troops — Chinese or Indian — move from one side of the LAC to the other?” he asked. “Answers to these questions are necessary because the Indian people are on a Treasure Hunt to find out what happened on June 15 and where,” he said.

Related news: Unless border dispute is resolved, expect more Galwans

Reports say the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) withdrew up to 2km from Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Springs) following talks between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday. While Chinese troops are expected to disengage from Patrol Point 17 (Gogra) by Wednesday, a report in The Hindu said the disengagement by the PLA at Pangong Tso, a key friction point, is marginal.

According to The Hindu report, only 30 people on each side are deployed at Galwan Valley and the distance between them or the buffer zone is 3.6 to 4 km. The buffer zone will temporarily restrict the patrolling activities of both the armies.

Related news: China pulls back troops from Galwan, crisis blows over for now

An official told The Hindu that India may lose its rights to patrol till Patrol Point 14 (where the June 15 faceoff took place) if a final solution is arrived at.