Will be able to go back to 2020 patrolling: EAM Jaishankar on India-China pact on patrolling
New Delhi, Oct 21: Indian and Chinese troops will be able to carry out patrolling the way they used to do before the military standoff between the two sides erupted in May 2020, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday after the two sides sealed a pact to resolve the festering border row in eastern Ladakh.
Shortly after the foreign secretary announced the agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Jaishankar said the disengagement process with China has been completed.
The breakthrough in resolving the over four-year military standoff in eastern Ladakh came ahead of a likely bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan this week.
"We reached an agreement on patrolling and with that the disengagement that we have gone back to where the situation was in 2020 and we can say...with that the disengagement process with China has been completed," Jaishankar said at the NDTV summit.
"I think it is a good development; it is a positive development and I would say it is a product of very patient and very persevering diplomacy," the minister said.
The ties between the two Asian giants nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
The two sides disengaged from a number of friction points following a series of military and diplomatic talks in the last couple of years.
However, the talks hit hurdles over the way forward in resolving the situation in Depsang and Demchok.
The external affairs minister said peace and tranquility along the border is important for the overall ties between the two countries. "We always said that if you disturb the peace and tranquillity how can the rest of the relationship go forward?"
To a question, Jaishankar indicated that India will be able to carry out patrolling in Depsang and other areas.
"So what has happened is that we reached an understanding which will allow the patrolling which you spoke about Depsang, that's not the only place," he said.
"There are other places also. The understanding to my knowledge is that we will be able to do the patrolling which we were doing in 2020 (prior to the standoff)," he said.
The external affairs minister said both sides have been holding negotiations to end the standoff since September 2020.
"On the one hand we had to obviously do the counter deployments, but side-by-side, we have been negotiating.
"We have been negotiating since September of 2020 when I met my Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow," he said.
"It has been a very patient process," Jaishankar said, adding maybe "it was more complicated than it could have and should have been".
Jaishankar said there was peace and tranquility along the LAC before 2020 and "hopefully we will be able to come back to that".
"That was our major concern because we always said that if you disturb the peace and tranquility, how do you expect the rest of the relationship to go forward."
On the difficult negotiations, Jaishankar said, "At various points of time, people almost gave up, you can say."
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
