On Thursday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told Parliament that no incidents of incursion by the Chinese troops had occurred in Chamoli, Uttarakhand earlier this month.
The issue was raised by Jyotiraditya Scindia and others MPs from Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress during zero hour in Lok Sabha.
Mr. Scindia said the Chinese troops had come about 200 meters into Indian territory in Chamoli.
“There were reports that the Chinese troops had also misbehaved with the local revenue department official in the area,” the Congress MP alleged.
Mr. Parrikar replied: “India-China border has not been formally demarcated. There are areas where both the sides have different perceptions of LAC (Line of Actual Control).”
“Barahoti (Uttarakhand) is one such area. There was no incursion, just transgression which has been settled,” added Parrikar in Lok Sabha.
On Wednesday, the Uttarakhand government revealed that its local officials had spotted Chinese troops in Barahoti in Chamoli district on July 19, and those Chinese soldiers asked local officials to return. According to Army sources, the incident happened on July 22.
The state of Uttarakhand shares a 350-km-long boundary with China, and many incursions incidents have been reported earlier also. Last year, some incidents were reported revealing that some local boys grazing cattle were beaten up by the Chinese troops. Badahoti lies over 100 km from Joshimath and can only be reached on foot. Local administration sends its teams to this area thrice a year – once in winter and twice in summer.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said he had informed the Union Home Ministry about this matter.
According to Defence Ministry, there was no “incursion” by the Chinese troops and it was actually “transgression” which sometimes occurs due to the different perception of borders.
According to Mr. Parrikar, a well-defined mechanism is in place to settle such transgressions.
B S Koshiyari – a BJP MP from Uttarakhand – also described the matter as “serious”, but said only central government should not be blamed if such incursions had taken place.
“The local state government too has its role on these matters,” he said.
“Chinese people do come to the border areas from time to time but they go back when confronted by Indian security personnel,” Mr Koshiyari added.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said the central government “will not spare any action” to international borders of the country.
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