PM must be mindful of implication of his words: Manmohan on Galwan crisis

In his first remark on the Ladakh face-off, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday (June 22) said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must be mindful of the implications of his words and cannot allow China to use them as a vindication of its position.

He was referring to Modi’s statement at the all-party meeting on Friday (June 19) in which he claimed that the Chinese did not enter Indian territory.

Noting that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership, Singh called upon the prime minister to ensure justice for soldiers who died defending India’s territorial integrity.

“To do any less would be a historic betrayal of people’s faith,” he said in a statement.

Related News: No one intruded into India or has taken over any post: PM in all-party meet

Noting that the country is standing at the historic crossroads, he said the government’s decisions and actions will have serious bearings on how the future generations perceive us.

“Those who lead us bear the weight of a solemn duty,” he said.

“And in our democracy, that responsibility rests with the office of the prime minister. The prime minister must always be mindful of the implications of his words and declarations on our nation’s security as also strategic and territorial interests,” he said in a statement on the standoff with China in Ladakh.

In a statement on the all-party meeting called by Modi on Friday (June 19) to discuss the situation at the India-China border, the government said, “At the outset, prime minister clarified that neither is anyone inside our territory nor is any of our posts captured.”

Twenty Indian Army personnel were killed in a brutal attack by the Chinese military in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley on June 15.