China reaffirms its territorial claims over Shaksgam Valley after India's objections
Beijing (PTI): China on Monday reaffirmed its territorial claims over the Shaksgam Valley in the backdrop of India's objections, stressing that the Chinese infrastructure projects in the area are "beyond reproach".
India last Friday criticised China's infrastructure development projects in the Shaksgam Valley, saying it reserves the right to take necessary measures to safeguard its interests as it is an Indian territory.
Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in the Shaksgam Valley to China in 1963 from areas illegally occupied by it.
“Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory. We have never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan 'boundary agreement' signed in 1963. We have consistently maintained that the agreement is illegal and invalid,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“We also do not recognise the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which passes through Indian territory that is under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan,” he said.
Reacting to Jaiswal's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here that "first of all, the territory you mentioned is part of China’s territory".
"China’s infrastructure activities in its own territory are beyond reproach,” she said while responding to a question on India’s criticism.
Mao said China and Pakistan have signed a border agreement and determined the border between the two countries since the 1960s.
These are the rights of Pakistan and China as sovereign states, she said.
On India's criticism of the CPEC, Mao repeated Beijing's narrative that it is an economic initiative aimed at local economic and social development and improving people’s livelihoods.
“Such agreement and CPEC will not affect China's position on the Kashmir issue and China’s position remains unchanged in this regard,” Mao said.
China’s official stand on the Kashmir issue, as often reiterated by Beijing, is that “Jammu and Kashmir dispute is left over from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements”.
In his response to a question on China's infrastructure development in the Shaksgam Valley, Jaiswal said, “The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India. This has been clearly conveyed to Pakistani and Chinese authorities several times."
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Will take action against parents of AJP's Kunki Chowdhury for beef consumption: Himanta
Jorhat (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said he will take action against the parents of AJP candidate Kunki Chowdhury for allegedly consuming beef and uploading a picture of it on social media.
Chowdhury (27), who is making her electoral debut from the Guwahati Central Assembly constituency, has repeatedly denied the allegations, terming it as fake news being spread by Sarma.
"After the election, I will take action against her parents as per the Cattle Prevention Act. I will accept everything, but not eating beef," the CM told reporters when asked about the ongoing controversy.
Consumption of beef is not illegal in the state, but the Assam Cattle Preservation Act, 2021, bans cattle slaughter and sale of beef in areas where Hindus, Jains and Sikhs are in majority, and in places within a five-km radius of a temple or satra (Vaishnavite monastery).
On Thursday, Sarma had claimed that her mother, academician Sujata Gurung Chowdhury, had shared posts related to beef consumption, made remarks offensive to certain sections and supported Pakistan, thereby hurting the sentiments of 'Sanatani' people.
"Forget whether Kunki wins or loses... Let her say that her parents eat beef, she is a Sanatani Hindu and she has disowned them. If she says she is not with her parents, then I am with her," Sarma said.
"Will you vote for people eating beef? Which ‘Satradhikar’ will vote for her?" he said.
Chowdhury, among the youngest candidates in the fray, is pitted against senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Gupta.
Polling for the 126-member Assam assembly will be held on April 9, while the results will be declared on May 4.
Continuing his salvo at Chowdhury, Sarma said: "They are talking about Gen Z, does Gen Z eat beef? My head spins hearing about eating beef... Lurinjyoti Gogoi (AJP chief) should apologise for insulting Hindus. Everytime, they say I am targeting the girl. I will target the whole world if someone eats beef.
"What kind of courage is this? Are we Hindus dead? Will we eat beef in front of the Kamakhya, Majuli and Batadrava?"
He claimed that even people of the Miya community have abandoned consuming beef, accepting his request, and now they eat buffalo meat instead.
"When I have stopped the Miyas from having beef, will I allow Kunki Chowdhury to eat it? No parents will be spared.... I had issued shoot-at-sight orders for bringing beef during Eid at Dhubri," Sarma asserted.
‘Miya’ is originally a pejorative term used for Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, and the non-Bengali-speaking people generally identify them as Bangladeshi immigrants. In recent years, activists from the community have started adopting the term as a gesture of defiance.
He also said that those who are supporting eating beef, on social media, should stop doing it, and "not insult Sankardeva, Batadrava, Majuli".
"If you want to fight with Himanta Biswa Sarma, I am ready for a fight. But, uploading beef eating picture on social media will not be tolerated, as there is an Act. Who is this Chowdhury to insult Hindus?" the CM said.
Sarma also alleged that her father has encroached land.
"His (Chowdhury's father) university is in my constituency. Nobody should support her without knowing the background...," he said.
Chowdhury had on Saturday filed a police complaint for alleged deep fake defamatory videos on social media about her family, following Sarma's claims on her mother's food habits.
She had also posted a sarcastic video on social media on Thursday in which she thanked Sarma for making her a household name in the country.
"A big thanks to the honourable chief minister. I learnt that during a media interaction, he made some allegations against my mother, which are completely untrue," she had said.
Chowdhury maintained that the allegations prove "the BJP has accepted defeat in the Guwahati Central seat".
"It has been just 15 days since I joined politics, and within this short span of time, the love that people of Guwahati Central and Assam have given me has worried them. With him (Sarma) uttering my name, the entire country will now know who is Kunki Chowdhury. I thank him again," she added.
