New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that ‘there was no intelligence failure’ in the violent face-off in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, which claimed the lives of 20 Indian Army soldiers.
“There was no intelligence failure,” Singh said in the all-party meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on India-China border issue, as per sources. In the meeting, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi asked if there was an intelligence failure.
Gandhi targetted the government over its handling of “intrusions” by China in Eastern Ladakh, saying it lost time, “failed” to use all avenues which resulted in the loss of lives of 20 soldiers in the violent face-off in Galwan Valley and asked if there was an intelligence failure. Gandhi said that the opposition parties and people were still in the dark about many crucial aspects of the crisis.
The leaders who took part in the meeting include Congress President Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP chief JP Nadda.
The Prime Minister and leaders also paid tributes to soldiers who lost their lives in the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.
The face-off happened on June 15 as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in the violent clash. ANI