The Congress party has once again turned its attention to the ongoing India-China border tensions. On Monday, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh launched a scathing attack on the Modi government. He accused the centre of misleading the nation on the status of Chinese incursions since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. His statement came at a time when Rahul Gandhi faced Supreme Court criticism over past remarks on the Indian Army.
Ramesh claimed that every patriotic Indian has been demanding answers about the Galwan incident. Instead of transparency, he alleged the government adopted a strategy based on denial, distraction, lies, and justification. This approach, he said, is what Congress refers to as the DDLJ policy.
According to Jairam Ramesh, the DDLJ acronym stands for Denial, Distract, Lie, and Justify. He accused the Modi government of using this tactic to avoid answering tough questions about territorial losses in eastern Ladakh. He stated that this policy is not just political spin but an ongoing cover-up of the reality at the border.
He further said that since June 15, 2020—when 20 Indian soldiers were martyred in Galwan—every Indian has demanded accountability. Yet, instead of acknowledging facts, the government continued to maintain its narrative of denial. Ramesh questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi, just four days after the incident, said no one entered Indian territory.
Jairam Ramesh’s remarks came shortly after Rahul Gandhi was pulled up by the Supreme Court. The apex court questioned Gandhi over a controversial statement he allegedly made during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The remark was perceived as insulting to the Indian Army. The court observed that such comments were inappropriate and said, “If you are a true Indian, you wouldn’t say that.”
However, the court also stayed ongoing legal proceedings against Gandhi in a Lucknow court. Despite the temporary relief, the case revived the larger debate over national security, border integrity, and freedom of speech.
Congress seized this moment to redirect attention to the India-China border situation, stressing that deflecting scrutiny is not a long-term solution. The party reiterated that asking questions about the nation’s territorial integrity is not anti-national but a democratic right.
Ramesh brought attention back to PM Modi’s statement on June 19, 2020, just days after the Galwan clash. In that address, Modi said, “Neither has anyone entered our territory, nor is anyone inside.” According to Congress, this gave China a free pass and severely impacted India’s diplomatic leverage.
The Congress leader asked why the government would contradict military assessments and independent reports. He referred to Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi’s recent remarks stating that India seeks to restore the status quo as of April 2020. Ramesh asked if the agreement signed on October 21, 2024, confirms this status quo or compromises further ground.
He also said that Indian patrol teams should not require China’s consent to access areas like Depsang, Demchok, and Chumar. These locations, he claimed, were previously under routine Indian patrolling without any restrictions.
Jairam Ramesh raised more pointed questions about the actual ground situation in eastern Ladakh. He cited earlier reports suggesting that up to 1,000 square kilometres of Indian territory, including 900 square kilometres in Depsang, may now be under Chinese control.
He also referred to a document presented by the Leh Superintendent of Police during a national police conference. According to that internal study, India has lost access to 26 out of 65 patrolling points in eastern Ladakh. Ramesh said this loss of access has not been explained clearly by the government, which continues to project a misleading narrative.
He emphasized that these findings were not hearsay but part of official security briefings. The Congress party demanded that the government disclose the current Line of Actual Control (LAC) situation in public interest.
Beyond the border issue, Jairam Ramesh also raised concerns about India’s rising trade dependence on China. He claimed that despite rising tension at the border, India’s imports from China have grown significantly. This, he said, shows the government’s flawed economic priorities.
He pointed out that imports of electronics, solar cells, electric batteries, and pharmaceutical components have increased rapidly. These sectors are considered critical to national security, and yet they remain heavily reliant on Chinese goods.
Ramesh claimed that in the financial year 2024-25, India’s trade deficit with China has reached a record 99.2 billion dollars. He said this reflects the mismatch between the government’s public posturing and its actual economic strategy.
According to him, any government that allows such dependency on an adversarial nation while claiming to stand strong at the borders is not serving national interest. He said this economic entanglement with China weakens India’s strategic position and undermines self-reliance.
The Congress leader went on to make one of his strongest statements yet. He claimed that the Modi government is responsible for the biggest territorial setback India has faced since 1962. That was the year of the Sino-Indian war, which resulted in significant losses for India in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
Ramesh said that while 1962 was a wartime failure, the current situation is a failure of strategy, governance, and courage. He alleged that the government’s efforts to normalize ties with China have come at the cost of national interest.
He further argued that ignoring facts, dismissing independent reports, and relying on image management is not how a responsible democracy functions. He said transparency, accountability, and respect for the armed forces’ assessments are essential to national security.
The Congress party reiterated that its questions are not aimed at creating controversy but at seeking clarity. It said the people of India deserve honest answers about national borders, soldier safety, and economic sovereignty.
The party maintained that asking questions is not a betrayal of the nation but a demand for responsibility. It criticized the government for branding critics as unpatriotic while avoiding real answers about land status, patrol access, and trade ties.
In its final remarks, Congress said that public memory may fade, but the truth about Galwan and Ladakh cannot be hidden forever. The party demanded a full, transparent account of what changed after April 2020 and what India is doing to reclaim lost ground.
The Congress attack has reignited the debate over how India should handle its relationship with China. With border disputes, rising imports, and increasing strategic risks, the issue demands more than silence and slogans.
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