They Have Taken Our Land In Ladakh; PM Modi Should Speak About It: Rahul Gandhi On China's Revised Map

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed the issue of China releasing a standard map that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as 'very serious' and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on it.

Gandhi remarked that China had already encroached upon Indian land in Ladakh and urged Prime Minister Modi to talk about it.

On Monday, Beijing released the 2023 edition of the so-called 'standard map of China', asserting its claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as territories within its borders.

When questioned about the map issue while departing for Karnataka, Gandhi informed reporters, "I have just returned from Ladakh, and I have been asserting for years that the Prime Minister's claim that not even an inch of land has been lost in Ladakh is completely untrue. The entire Ladakh region is aware that China has encroached upon our land."

Gandhi emphasised the gravity of the map issue and highlighted that China had already occupied Indian land. He called on the Prime Minister to address this situation as well.

"This map issue is very serious but they have already taken away our land and the PM should say something about that too," Gandhi said.

The Congress party strongly objected on Tuesday to the inclusion of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in China's map.

The party asserted that these regions are integral parts of India and that no illegal representation or arbitrarily fabricated map by a habitual offender can alter this fact.

In contrast, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that China has a habit of releasing such maps which includes other countries' territories as its own, noting that this holds no significant value.

He said, "China has a history of putting out maps that include territories that do not belong to them."

He dismissed China's claims, stating that the government is firm in its stance on territorial boundaries. He further asserted that making baseless claims does not grant ownership of other nations' territories.