Rajnath demands Khurshid`s visit to China be cancelled

BJP President Rajnath Singh demanded cancellation of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid`s May 9 visit to China till it withdraws its army from Depsang Valley in Ladakh where they intruded.

New Delhi: BJP President Rajnath Singh on Sunday demanded cancellation of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid`s May 9 visit to China till it withdraws its army personnel forces from Depsang Valley in Ladakh where they intruded a fortnight back. "Despite all this, our Foreign Minister is going to China on a visit. I am sorry but I would humbly request the Prime Minister to stop the Foreign Minister. Till the time China leaves Ladakh and goes back, there should not be any visit to Beijing," Singh said addressing the Matri Shree awards function here.

He also demanded that the area should be handed over to the Army instead of ITBP, which is currently posted there. "The area where China has infiltrated was under the army till 2010. The government pulled out the army from there and handed it over to ITBP, which fall under the Home Ministry. "I request that without any delay, the area under ITBP be handed back to the army because no other force can work there. It is a very sensitive matter and our country is facing grave danger from outside," Singh said. The government so far has decided to go ahead with Khurshid`s visit notwithstanding the Chinese intrusion. Khurshid`s trip comes ahead of the visit by newly elected Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India later next month. A lot of significance is being attached to Li`s visit, his first abroad after becoming Prime Minister last month. The BJP chief said the way China was surrounding India from all corners was "not a recent thing" and that he had attracted the government`s attention to this five years ago. "I was the first politician to raise the issue of China building a dam on Brahmaputra five-six years ago and trying to divert its water. I raised this issue in Parliament. The Prime Minister said it is a serious matter and I would speak to you personally. I suggested composition of a joint committee to probe the matter but it wasn`t done," Singh rued. On the attack on Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh in a Lahore jail, the BJP chief said had India been strong in protesting against earlier similar incidents in Pakistan, no one could have dared to attack him. PTI