China map issue 'very serious', PM should speak on it: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed as "very serious" the issue of China releasing a "standard map" that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, saying the neighbouring country had already taken India's land in Ladakh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak on the issue.
On Monday, Beijing released the 2023 edition of the so-called "standard map of China" that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as regions within its borders.
Asked about the map issue as he was leaving for Karnataka, Gandhi told reporters, "I have just returned from Ladakh and I have been saying for years that what the PM has said, that not one inch of land has been lost in Ladakh, is an absolute lie. The whole of Ladakh knows that China has usurped our land."
"This map issue is very serious but they have already taken away our land and the PM should say something about that too," the former Congress president said.
The Congress on Tuesday took strong objection to the inclusion of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in China's map and asserted that these are inalienable parts of India which no such illegal representation or arbitrarily invented map by the "habitual offender" can change.
Raising the Sino-India border issue in Kargil last week, Gandhi said everyone in Ladakh knows that China has "taken away our land", claiming that the prime minister's assertion that not an inch of land was occupied was "absolutely false".
India has lodged a strong protest with China over the map.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Tuesday said India rejects these claims as they have no basis and that such steps by the Chinese side only "complicate" the resolution of the boundary question.
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Man accused of rape-murder of 5-year-old lynched to death in Bengal; Girl’s body found in pond
Alipurduar: A 40-year-old man accused of raping and murdering a five-year-old girl was allegedly tied to a tree and beaten to death by agitated locals in Alipurduar district located in West Bengal on Friday evening. Later, another man surrendered before the police claiming he was also involved in the crime, and was subsequently arrested.
The girl went missing on Friday evening. When her family began searching for the girl, they learned that she had last been seen with Mona Roy, as reported by the Indian Express.
The police said that the girl’s body was found floating in a local pond. They added that the locals caught Roy and took him to his residence where they allegedly noticed blood on the bed. Enraged by this, they tied Roy to a tree and started assaulting him.
Roy was beaten to death before the local police could reach the spot.
When the police arrived at the scene, angry locals prevented them from moving the two bodies. Eventually, a large team of police personnel was sent to the location. After two hours, they were able to remove the bodies from the area.
The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination.
Meanwhile, a man named Bhakta Roy approached the police, claiming that he was involved in the crime and feared for his safety from the angry mob. He was subsequently arrested.
Y. Raghuvanshi, Superintendent of Police, Alipurduar, asserted it is a heinous crime, adding that they have started a detailed investigation in connection to the incident.
