‘India’s move to add more troops….’: Beijing reacts on additional Indian troops at LAC
Stating that inaugurating this all-weather tunnel less than five years after he laid the foundation for it is what ‘Modi ki guarantee’ means, the PM said he doesn’t work keeping the number of Lok Sabha seats in mind unlike Congress.“Come to Arunachal and you will see ‘Modi ki guarantee’ in person. In 2019, it was from here that I laid the foundation stone of Sela tunnel. And what happened today, was the tunnel made or not? Is this not called a guarantee?,” Modi asked.
Highlighting the focus of his govt on building roads leading to the Line of Actual Control, PM attacked Congress govts of neglecting the task. “Their priorities were wrong. Else, strategic infrastructure which are key for the security and development of border areas like the Sela tunnel would have been built earlier,” said Modi, a remark which also appeared aimed as much against China which has long been critical of India’s effort to build roads in the border areas in the past decade and had on Friday criticised the deployment of 10,000 troops as “counterproductive”.
“You know very well what Congress and Indi-alliance are doing amidst these efforts of BJP government. In the past, when they should have built modern infrastructure on our borders, Congress govts were busy running scams . Congress was playing with the security of the country by keeping our border and our border villages underdeveloped. Keeping its own Army weak and its own people deprived of facilities and prosperity is the way Congress works,” said Modi.
The road leading to Tawang and areas beyond which China claims as its own and where the troops of two countires clashed in 2022 pass through Sela. The tunnel will facilitate the movement of troops, materials supplies and weapons by reducing the distance from Tawang and Dirang in Arunchal’s West Kameng district by 12 kilometres and the travel time by 90 minutes.
Modi who had to inaugurate the project virtually because of bad weather emphasised that it was he who had laid the foundation of the tunnel five years ago, as he asked the crowds to celebrate the opening. The PM who inaugurated a bunch of projects called the tunnel “the joy of this development festival,” as he asked the gathering to turn on the flashlight of their mobile phones to mark the occasion.“This for the celebration of Sela Tunnel, celebration of development. Look around…wow! What a sight… This is a gesture to give strength to the country.”
He said that Congress neglected Arunchal Pradesh as the state with just two seats in Lok Sabha did not fit into party’s priorities. China has already developed its road infrastructure across the LAC in the Tawang sector allowing it to mobilise additional troops there more rapidly than ever since it built a highway across the Yangtse plateau two years ago.
The PM said that BJP’s investment in the northeast’s development over the last five years is nearly four times higher than that of the Congress and previous administrations. “The work we did in five years, it would have taken Congress 20 years to do the same work. Should we have waited 20 years?” he asked.
Modi, unveiling projects valued at Rs 55,000 crore for the region, reiterated his vision for the northeast to serve as India’s link for trade, tourism, and relations with south and east Asia, He said that that these efforts are not meant for electoral gains, pointing out the completion of projects like the Sela tunnel and and Doni Polo airport, the foundations for which were laid in 2019.
Th Sela tunnel built by BRO will reduce travel time for troops and weaponry, providing an easier alternative route from Army’s 4th Corps headquarters in Assam’s Tezpur right till the LAC covering a distance of more than 350 km.
It also brings big relief to the local population and Tawang-bound tourists. The tunnel will help them bypass the road through Sela Pass at an altitude of 13,700 feet and which has been serving as the only road to Tawang and beyond to the LAC since 1962. Famed for its scenic beauty, the Sela Pass is also treacherous as oxygen gets thinner there and it often gets heavy snowfall, which cuts off Tawang from the rest of the country.
Source Agencies
