New Delhi: BJP on Sunday demanded that External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's visit to China on May 9 be cancelled over the issue of Chinese incursion in Ladakh and slammed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for calling it a "localised problem". The Government on its part said India is trying its best to deal with the incursion issue in a constructive manner, as the standoff between India and China on Chinese troops entering Indian territory a fortnight back continued.
BJP President Rajnath Singh said Khurshid should not visit China till it withdraws its army personnel from Depsang Valley in eastern Ladakh while party colleague Arun Jaitley said the prime minister's remark gave an impression that the UPA government was treating the incursion as a "non-issue".
"Despite all this, our Foreign Minister is going to China on a visit. I am sorry but I would humbly request the Prime Minister to stop the Foreign Minister. Till the time China leaves Ladakh and goes back, there should not be any visit to
Beijing," Singh said addressing the Matri Shree awards function in New Delhi.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said in Chennai that India is trying its best to deal with it in a constructive manner, and urged the media to be "extremely sensitive and responsible" when it comes to reportage with regard to matters of national security.
Taking exception to the prime ministe's remark describing the Chinese incursion as a "localised problem", Jaitley said it was not a "satisfactory anwser". "There are various options possible for a government. I am not for a moment speaking about confrontation but there are instruments of diplomacy available to a state,", Jaitley said.
The options could be from trade pressures to raising certain issues which may put the other side on the defensive to international pressures, Jaitley told reporters in Bangalore.
"Are we doing any of these or are we treating it as a non-issue? Regrettably, I get the later impression," he said. Jaitley said doing nothing is a matter of worry for the country and government should tell the country about its intentions.
"Tomorrow he (Prime Minister) is in Hubli (to address an election meeting) and he must tell you, rather than saying it is a localised problem. It is not a satisfactory answer." He said the BJP has been supporting the government on Indo-China dispute, but wished to keep pressure to wake it up.
Breaking his silence over the Chinese incursion issue, Prime Minister Singh on Saturday sought to play it down it as a "localised problem" and expressed confidence that the issue can be resolved.
"We do have a plan. We do not want to accentuate the situation. We do believe that it is possible to resolve this problem. It is a localised problem. I think the talks are going on," he told reporters.
Rajnath Singh demanded that the area where incursion took place be handed over to the Army instead of ITBP, which is currently posted there. "The area where China has infiltrated was under the army till 2010. The government pulled out the army from there and handed it over to ITBP, which falls under the Home Ministry.
"I request that without any delay, the area under ITBP be handed back to the army because no other force can work there. It is a very sensitive matter and our country is facing grave danger from outside," Singh said.
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