In a fresh salvo after trade-off with the Central government on the issue of Chinese incursion, the Congress has attacked the Modi government asking if the government has fixed any accountability for failure to check Chinese intrusion at LAC.

Hitting out at the government, the Congress said, ministers speak for matters related to other ministries and concerned ministers either keep quiet or address rallies instead.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, addressing a press conference on Wednesday, said, “Many experts have raised concern and the government should tell the nation whether the status quo prior to April 1, 2020 has been restored.”

Tewari also asked if status quo has been maintained in Galwan valley and questioned, “How did the Chinese Army enter Indian territory? Has the government fixed any accountability for this failure?”

“The Prime Minister should tell that from May 20 to till date, how much Indian territory the Chinese have occupied?” added Tewari.

The Congress leader posed questions that after the last round of talks, from which place the Chinese Army has receded and have they vacated LAC territory as per India’s perception. The Congress asked what is the extent of incursion at LAC.

“It’s astonishing how the Defence Minister has time for election rallies but not for addressing national security concerns,” said the statement from the party.

Meanwhile, the party also hit back at Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who had attacked Rahul Gandhi for asking questions related to Chinese intrusion on Twitter. The party replied that the BJP used to do the same while in opposition and showed how BJP leaders and the Prime Minister raised questions on Twitter in 2013.

“We want to tell them that patriotism and nationalism is not the exclusive monopoly of the NDA-BJP and much less the law minister,” Manish Tewari said.

“Asking hard questions to the government is not unpatriotic, not replying to them is unpatriotic,” he added.

Slamming Prasad, Tewari said the Union Law Minister made a “very unfair and completely irresponsible” political attack.

According to Tewari, it is unfortunate that rather than answering questions, the government was using “abrasive language” against the opposition party.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had on Wednesday slammed Rahul Gandhi for seeking information on international matter on social media platforms.

“Rahul Gandhi should know that on international matters, like China, questions should not be asked on Twitter. He is the same man who asked for evidence after Balakot airstrikes and 2016 Uri attack,” Prasad was quoted as saying by ANI.

The Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, over the past few weeks, has targeted the Government repeatedly over reports of Chinese incursion and border skirmishes in eastern Ladakh.

Several areas along the LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have witnessed major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies recently, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of respective positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 which spilled over to the next day before the two sides agreed to “disengage” following a meeting at the level of local commanders.

(With agency inputs)