56-inch toy, China holds keys: Congress's veiled dig at PM over ITBP chief's remark

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on Friday took a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the ITBP chief, General Shatrujeet Kapur's ongoing face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops along the Arunachal Pradesh border remark, accusing the government of suppressing information about the situation since July.Referring to the statement by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Kapur, Khera alleged that the government had kept the developments under wraps for months. He also launched an apparently personal attack on the Prime Minister, comparing him to a toy controlled by China, the United States and Israel.“Chinese toys are sold across the world. We also have a 56-inch toy in our country, whose key is with China. It is also with America and Israel,” Khera said, in an apparent reference to PM Modi's often-used “56-inch chest” political image.Khera said the ITBP chief's remarks had brought to light information that the public had already suspected but that the government had been suppressing since July. “What the ITBP DG has said was already known to you and us. But the government had been suppressing it since July. Today, the DG's disclosure has made everyone aware of it,” he said.Khera also praised the Indian Army for its performance under difficult circumstances, saying, “Our Army is putting up a tremendous fight in adverse conditions.”WHAT ITBP CHIEF SAID ABOUT THE ARUNACHAL BORDER Speaking at the Himveer Samman Samaroh, an annual felicitation ceremony for ITBP personnel held at the Central Training College (CTC) in Alwar, Rajasthan, ITBP Director General Shatrujeet Kapur recently confirmed that confrontations with Chinese troops were continuing at multiple locations along the Arunachal Pradesh border, marking the first official confirmation of ongoing face-offs on the northeastern frontier.“In the past few days, a situation arose where a face-off happened at several locations in Arunachal, and it continues,” Kapur said at an annual felicitation ceremony for ITBP personnel.According to the information provided, the confrontations have been ongoing since July, when reports emerged that Chinese troops were denying Indian forces access to key patrolling points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Taksing area.The developments suggest that military friction continued through the BRICS Summit in New Delhi in September, which Chinese President Xi Jinping attended.Kapur said the ITBP's newly raised Shaurya commandos performed exceptionally well during the confrontations. The commandos specialise in high-altitude warfare.The ITBP, established in 1962, guards the 3,488-km-long LAC with China. Kapur said the force was raised as a mountain guerrilla force and was assigned border-guarding duties along the Chinese frontier in 2004. He also stressed that the force should not abandon its original role.Describing China as the most difficult front, the ITBP chief said the force had raised drone platoons in all its border units, developed specialised combat training to handle situations similar to the Galwan clash, and was creating underground infrastructure.POLITICAL ROW OVER BORDER ACCESS IN TAKSINGTensions along the Arunachal Pradesh border have intensified in recent months. In July, a fact-finding team of the People's Party of Arunachal (PPA) alleged that People's Liberation Army troops were effectively blocking Indian access to designated patrolling points in Taksing. The team also flagged increasing Chinese activity in the Upper Subansiri district.The government rejected the claims while maintaining that Arunachal Pradesh was an inalienable and integral part of India. The PPA is a regional political party with two MLAs in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly.- Ends