Chinese buildup close to Doklam plateau a grave security threat: Congress
New Delhi, Apr 12: The Congress on Wednesday expressed concern over the reported Chinese buildup close to the Doklam plateau, and said it poses a grave security threat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should break his "silence" on the issue.
In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the Modi government has failed to restore the status quo ante on the Line of Actual Control for three years and urged the Union home minister to restore it instead of making "misleading claims".
"The Indian Army has expressed fresh and serious concern at the Chinese military build-up close to the Doklam plateau. Here is my statement on this grave security threat that even Parliament has been prevented from discussing for almost three years now," he said on Twitter while sharing his statement.
He said that according to a recent news report, the Indian armed forces have expressed concern about a major Chinese military buildup close to the Doklam plateau.
"These developments represent a clear threat to India's national security," he said in the statement.
Citing the March 9 statement of Home Minister Amit Shah that "we will not allow anyone to take even an inch" of Indian territory, Ramesh said, "Yet the reality is that China prevented our troops from accessing 2,000 square kilometres of Indian territory after May 2020."
He claimed that even today, Chinese patrols block our access to numerous patrolling points in Depsang, Demchok, Hot Springs (Kungrang Nalla) and Gogra Post.
"The Modi government has failed for three years to restore the status quo ante on the Line of Actual Control. We request the Home Minister to restore the status quo rather than make bombastic and misleading statements inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's infamous claim that 'Na koi hamari seema mein ghus aaya hai, na hi koi ghusa hua hai'.
"We are fully confident in the ability of the Indian armed forces to repel any Chinese misadventure, as they did in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh on 9 December 2022. But when will the prime minister break his eloquent silence on China, after having given it a clean chit in 2020? Or will his longstanding links to China, including those of his close friends the Adanis, prove too strong for him to comment at all," Ramesh asked.
The Congress has been demanding a discussion on the border situation with China.
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ED cracks down on suspected interstate liquor racket, raids 9 sites in Arunachal
Itanagar (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has carried out coordinated searches at nine locations across Arunachal Pradesh in connection with a suspected large-scale interstate liquor smuggling and money laundering network, officials said on Monday.
The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is part of an expanding probe that points to a syndicate exploiting tax differentials among states.
Officials said liquor designated for sale within Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly diverted and supplied illegally to markets in Assam and other states.
The searches, conducted earlier this week, spanned multiple towns such as Itanagar, Naharlagun, Seppa, Ziro, Daporijo, Namsai and Roing, targeting wholesale liquor businesses suspected of being linked to the network.
According to officials, the investigation stems from a series of FIRs registered by Assam Police over the illegal transportation of liquor from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam.
Inputs from the Assam Excise Department further strengthened the case. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered on October 17, 2024, and later widened through an addendum incorporating 173 additional FIRs.
Earlier searches conducted on February 4 last year, at premises linked to three alleged key operators, believed to be major liquor manufacturers, had revealed indications of a well-coordinated operation.
Investigators suspect that the network functioned through a chain of manufacturers, bonded warehouses and wholesalers, while masking real ownership using proxy arrangements such as tribal partnerships and dummy licence holders.
During the latest ED operations, the agency found that several wholesale units were operating under proxy licences issued in the names of local individuals, while actual control remained with the suspected masterminds.
Financial scrutiny revealed that between 51 and 90 per cent of total credits in certain bank accounts comprised unexplained cash deposits.
Investigators also flagged a pattern of invoice splitting, with transactions deliberately kept below Rs 2 lakh to avoid scrutiny. In one instance, more than 200 invoices of identical value of Rs 1,99,554 were generated within a single month at one location.
On-ground staff reportedly confirmed that records, including stock registers and daily cash collections, were being routed to offices associated with the alleged controllers.
The ED said it seized approximately Rs 40 lakh in unaccounted cash during the searches.
In a significant finding, 14 seals, some purportedly belonging to the Excise Department of the Arunachal Pradesh government, were recovered from one of the premises. These are suspected to have been used to create fake transport permits to facilitate the unauthorised movement of liquor.
Further investigation is underway, officials added.
