“Words cannot describe the pain I feel” for the loss of life of the troopers, Rahul Gandhi tweeted.
New Delhi:
The Congress’s Rahul Gandhi tweeted his condolences for the military officer and the lads who died in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley final night time following what the military referred to as a “violent face-off” wherein either side sustained casualty.
‘Words can not describe the ache I really feel for the officers and males who sacrificed their lives for our nation. My condolences to all their family members. We stand with you on this tough time,” Mr Gandhi’s tweet read.
Words cannot describe the pain I feel for the officers and men who sacrificed their lives for our country.
My condolences to all their loved ones. We stand with you in this difficult time.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2020
Colonel B Santosh, who belonged to the 16 Bihar Regiment, and two soldiers — Havildar Palani and Sepoy Ojha — died last night when a clash broke out as the Chinese troops were getting ready to move away from a location as per an agreement between the two sides, sources said.
Colonel Santosh, who was the commanding officer of the troops, was assaulted with batons, stones. There was no shooting, sources said. The assault lasted for several hours and soldiers from both sides had disengaged after midnight, sources said.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami condoled the death of Mr Palani, who was from the state.
“#LadakhBorder I used to be deeply disturbed by the information of the loss of life of Mr. Palani, a Tamil soldier from Ramanathapuram – Kadukalur village, who was engaged in safety work within the space when the Chinese military attacked. My deepest condolences to the household of the heroic Aidiya Palani!” his tweet read.
Mr Gandhi’s party, the Congress, has demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi share the ground situation at Ladakh with the nation, including how much of Indian territory is under Chinese control.
BJP chief JP Nadda said the Congress always “created political points” during a crisis.
“When we have been combating the Kargil battle, Sonia Gandhi-ji had requested for a RS session. The then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had referred to as an all-party assembly, however Congress did not take part. This is their tradition,” he was quoted as saying by BJPLive, the party’s Internet TV initiative.