India / Terrible consequences if Centre doesn't respond to China: Chidambaram

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remark on the Galwan valley conflict with China has left practically everyone baffled and bewildered.

PM Modi had, after an all-party meeting about the LAC row, said that neither has anyone intruded into the Indian territory nor has anyone captured any military posts.

"At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister made his concluding remarks. These remarks have left practically everyone baffled and bewildered. The PM said no outsider was inside Indian territory in Ladakh," Chidambaram said in a press conference here.

He said that Modi's statement contradicted the earlier statements made by the Chief of Army Staff, the Defence Minister, and the Foreign Minister.

"If the Prime Minister's statement reflects the correct position, we would like to ask the government a few questions. If no Chinese troops had crossed the LAC and are in Indian territory, what was the face-off on May 5-6," Chidambaram asked.

"We would also like to ask that if no Chinese troops were inside Indian territory, where did the clashes take place on June 15-16? Where were 20 Indian soldiers killed and 85 injured?" he added.

This comes as tension at the LAC with China are high after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a violent face-off with the Chinese troops in the Galwan valley amid de-escalation talks.

Chidambaram said that once the Indian Prime Minister makes the statement that there are no Chinese on Indian territory, he has to define what Indian territory is.

"The Chinese claim has been consistent with what they have been claiming for the last few weeks, it is the Indian position as articulated by the Prime Minister that has come as a total shock. That is why we have asked pointed questions, now that China is claiming the entire Galwan valley, do you reject this claim or not," the former union minister asked urging the Central government to reject the Chinese claim today itself.

He said if the Government of India does not reject the claim of the Chinese today, it can have "terrible consequences".

Speaking about the call to boycott Chinese products, Chidambaram said that simply boycotting their products will not hurt the economy of the neighbouring country as Chinese trade with India is only a fraction of its world trade.

"We must become self-reliant as much as possible but we can't decouple with the rest of the world. India must continue to be part of the global supply chain and not boycott Chinese goods. What part of Chinese trade with India is China's world trade? It's a fraction," he said.