Congress on Thursday took aim at the Centre over its response to Chinese President Xi Jinping's statement that he was watching Kashmir, asking why the Prime Minister and external affairs ministry couldn't tell him that they were also keeping an eye on several developments currently taking place in China.
Senior leader and an MP from Anandpur Sahib, Manish Tewari, took to tweeter and asked why the Centre couldn't say: "We are watching Pro Democracy protests muzzled in Hong Kong. 2 )We are watching human rights violations in Xinjiang. 3 )We are watching continued oppression in Tibet 4 )We are watching South China Sea."
In another tweet, Tiwari targetted the NDA government, saying everyone was speaking of taking back PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan, but no one from the ruling alliance had "gumption to say that we will take Aksai- Chin back from the Chinese that was illegally ceded to it by Pakistan in 1963".
"Will @PMOIndia raise return of Aksai Chin with Xi ??" he further asked.
On Wednesday, during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, "President Xi assured that China has been observing the situation in Kashmir," state-run China Global Television Network, or CGTN, reported.
"China supports Pakistan to safeguard its legitimate interests and hopes relevant parties can solve the dispute via peaceful dialogue," the channel quoted Xi as telling Khan.
Reacting sharply to the reports of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan discussing Kashmir, India on Wednesday said that Beijing was "well aware" of New Delhi's position and it was not for other countries to comment on its internal affairs.
India's reaction came within hours of Chinese state media quoting Xi as telling Khan during the meeting that China has been "observing" the situation in Kashmir, and hoped that the "relevant parties" can solve the issue through peaceful dialogue.
"We have seen the report regarding the meeting of Xi with Khan which also refers to their discussions on Kashmir. India's position has been consistent and clear that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India. China is well aware of our position. It is not for other countries to comment on the internal affairs of India," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar asserted.
