At all-party meet, Mamata Banerjee tells Centre don’t let China enter telecom, railway and aviation sectors

NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday urged the Centre to not let China enter telecom, railway and aviation sectors, while also extending full support to the Narendra Modi government in dealing with Beijing after the violent face-off with its troops in Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

Speaking on her turn during the all-party meeting, the TMC chief said, “Don’t let China enter telecom, railway and aviation sectors. We will face some problems but we won’t allow the Chinese to enter the country.”

“China is not a democracy. They are a dictatorship. They can do what they feel. We, on the other hand, have to work together. India will win, China will lose. Speak with unity. Think with unity. Work with unity. We are solidly with the Govt,” the West Bengal leader said, according to the sources.

Ahead of her, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked the government to share whether there was any intelligence failure on the situation along the LAC where 20 army personnel were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops, and sought an assurance from the Prime Minister that status quo ante would be restored at the border and China will revert to its original position.

In her introductory remarks at an all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Gandhi posed a set of questions to the government, asking specifics about when Chinese troops intruded into the Indian territory in Ladakh and whether the country's external intelligence agencies did not report any unusual activity there.

"The question is, what next? What is the way forward? The entire country would like an assurance that the status quo ante would be restored, and China will revert to the original position on the Line of Actual Control," she said.

Gandhi alleged that valuable time was lost between May 5 and June 6 and the government failed to use all avenues of talks to ease the situation and the result was the loss of 20 lives as well as injury to dozens of personnel.

She also asked about the current status of the Mountain Strike Corps, with two mountain infantry divisions, that was sanctioned in 2013. "Should the government not treat it with utmost priority," she asked.

The crucial all-party meeting was called after at least 20 Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel rank officer, lost their lives in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley area of Ladakh on June 15 night.

Today's meeting is being attended by 20 leaders of top political parties but AAP, RJD and AMIM were not invited to attend it.