Fifty-three Indian soldiers and a bulldozer were present at the Doklam area, a report in a state-run daily said on Wednesday quoting the Chinese foreign ministry.

The ministry, according to the Global Times, asked India to withdraw its troops and equipment from what it called the “Chinese territory”.

Citing the ministry, the daily said that 53 people and a bulldozer from the Indian side remain in “Chinese territory” as of Monday.

“India should withdraw its troops and equipment…They have gravely infringed on China’s sovereignty,” the ministry was quoted as having said by the daily.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang last week said that “there were 48 Indian soldiers and one bulldozer” in Doklam area as of August 2.

“In addition, there are still a large number of Indian armed forces congregating on the boundary and on the Indian side of the boundary,” Geng had said.

A 15-page fact sheet issued by the Chinese foreign ministry had earlier said that there were over 40 Indian border troops and one bulldozer in the area by the July end.

Countering Chinese contention, sources in New Delhi last week maintained that around 350 Indian Army personnel have been in Doklam for last six weeks after China tried to build a road in the area, triggering the standoff.

India and China have been locked in a face-off in the Doklam area of the Sikkim sector for over 50 days after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area.

China claimed it was constructing the road within their territory and has been demanding immediate pull-out of the Indian troops from the disputed Doklam plateau. Bhutan says Doklam belongs to it but China claims the area belongs to it and says Thimphu has no dispute with Beijing over it.

Doka La is the Indian name for the region which Bhutan recognises as Doklam, while China claims it as part of its Donglang region.

The military standoff between China and India in the Doklam region has lasted for almost two months now, and there is still no end in sight, the Chinese daily added.

India’s position on the issue was made clear by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj recently, saying both sides should first pull back their troops for any talks to take place, favouring a peaceful resolution of the border standoff.

The mortal remains of Major Kamlesh Pandey at his hometown in Haldwani on Friday. Tribune photo

The last rites of Major Kamlesh Pandey, who laid down his life fighting terrorists at Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir, were performed at the Chitrashila ghat in his hometown of Haldwani on Friday.Maj Pandey’s brother, also an army man, lit the pyre amid presence of a large number of people. A contingent of the Kumaon Regiment sounded the Last Post to pay respect to the martyr.Transport Minister Yashpal Arya, MLA Basidhar Bhagat and senior officials of the administration laid wreath at the mortal remains of Maj Pandey.The martyr is survived by his wife Rachna Pandey and two-year-old daughter Bhumika, who live in Ghaziabad, UP.Inconsolable,  father of the martyr Mohan Chand Pandey said his son spoke to him before he left for the operation. Dehradun, TNS

The BJP under Narendra Modi-Amit Shah is making fresh political conquests by the day but is leaving behind the odious residue of discord, conflict and impunity. The latest to raise the flag is a group of over 100 retired officers from all the three services who have penned a collective letter to the Prime Minister protesting the relentless vigilantism that is sweeping parts of the country. This is not the first time that superannuated officers, with no ostensible axe to grind, have cautioned the Modi government about the social discord unleashed in towns and villages of the country. Last month 65 retired bureaucrats of all India and Central services, who were at pains to point out that they had no political affiliation, had expressed their deep disquiet over the erosion of the credo of impartiality, neutrality and commitment to the Indian Constitution.What makes the latest missive different is that all of its backers are retired officers from the three services, the constituency completely claimed by the ruling dispensation. These former officers also say the compelling reason for penning the note of protest is the current climate of divisiveness behind which is the cultivated buildup of climate of hate and distrust. Like their retired civilian colleagues, these officers have also done some plain speaking on the browbeating of the media and the targeting of Dalits and Muslims.Success is a major disincentive for changing course, especially in a hard-fought profession like politics. The Prime Minister referred to communalism in his latest broadcast to the nation but it was water off the duck’s back for the Hindutva vigilante crowd. The formula worked brilliantly in UP and Assam and reaped a decent harvest in Bihar that subsequently came in handy.  This approach is overlaid with the sauce of hyper-nationalism in which it is proclaimed that the armed forces are co-opted partners as they chip away at the Constitution’s liberal and secular values. Now it is that very section which says it can no longer look away in silence while diversity, the glue of cohesion for the nation and the armed forces, is under attack. 

Barbs to-fro on lynching in LS

Kiren Rijiju. File photo

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 31

Combative Treasury and Opposition benches today exchanged barbs in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on “atrocities and lynching in mob violence”, with Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju saying the Congress suffers from “selective amnesia”.He cautioned that BJP’s popularity would grow with attacks on the government.(Congress and other Opposition members staged a walkout when Rijiju took the floor to reply to the six-hour debate. The Treasury benches periodically stepped in to defend PM Narendra Modi.Rijiju said the Congress was indulging in double standards. On the allegation of government inaction, he said Modi had already made public condemnation of the incidents and urged CMs to deal firmly with culprits.“The Centre has also issued an advisory to states to take action and its role is limited. Law and order is a state subject. The states must take strict action,” he said.Responding to concerns raised by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge that the incidents had sullied India’s image abroad, Rijiju said the atrocities were part of the continuing trend of several years.“You try to avoid discussions on incidents that happen in states ruled by you,” he said, and questioned CPM cadres’ fatal attacks on RSS and BJP workers in Kerala.“The Opposition is bereft of issues. It raised issues like intolerance and attack on churches, which on investigation were found to be bogus. This was to defile Modi’s image,” he added.Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan reminded the Opposition of the anti-Sikh riots.The tone of the Opposition’s belligerence was set by Kharge, who said the Centre was giving tacit support to the perpetrators of the crime. “The VHP, Bajrang Dal and local cow protection samitis are behind cow vigilantism.”

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 28

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) today said Rs 3,800 crore had been spent on missiles that were yet to be inducted. Half of these missiles have absorbed moisture due to wrong storage, while 30 per cent have failed tests, it has said.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)In its report tabled in both Houses of Parliament today, the CAG said, “The strategic missile system for the IAF in the “S” sector was to be put in place between June 2013 and December 2015. Till date, however, none of the missile systems has been installed.” In December 2010, the MoD concluded a contract with BEL for the delivery of six squadrons of this missile system. Though the CAG did not give any name, this reportedly refers to surface-to-air missile Akash and the “S” sector is a description of the eastern part of the country, including a location in the foothills of Bhutan. Akash is a medium-range SAM that travels at 3,000 kmph to hit incoming aerial threats.The CAG termed it as an “abnormal delay in the creation of infrastructure required for installation of the missile. About Rs 4,000 crore has already been spent for the purpose”.The report blames the IAF and the Ministry of Defence-owned public sector giant Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the delay.The missiles were received at six IAF stations between April 2014 and June 2016, after delay of six to 18 months. The, IAF released 95 per cent of the payment (Rs 3,809 crore) by March 2016, which included creation of infrastructure like storage, workshop etc.“The strategic missile system delivered by BEL was deficient in quality”, the CAG said. Of the 80 missiles received up to November 2014, 20 missiles were test fired during April-November 2014. Six of them (30 per cent) failed the test. “Missiles fell short of the target, had lower than the required velocity, besides malfunctioning of critical units,” the CAG said.So even as missiles arrived in 2014, the infrastructure to store such weapons could not be completed at any of the six sites till October 2016.The life span of missiles is 10 years from the date of manufacturing and these have to be stored in air-conditioned environment at 23°C. Between April 2014 and May 2016, the storage was in conditions that did not have that facility. “During periodic checks of missiles, it was found that there was moisture ingress in 71 missiles,” it said.“Till the missile system is commissioned, a significant part of their serviceable life would have been over, without contributing to operational readiness and its strategic purpose,” the report said.

‘30% failed test’Of the 80 missiles received up to November 2014, 20 missiles were test fired during April-November 2014. Six of them (30 per cent) failed the test. — CAG report

Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister

Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 20

India today played cautious and maintained that talks were the way forward when it came to resolving the month-old Doklam standoff. China has maintained that Indian troops need to withdraw as a pre-condition for any ‘meaningful dialogue’ to begin.Gopal Baglay, official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, today chose not to directly answer questions on the Chinese pre-condition for talks but emphasised that ‘diplomatic channels’ had not been impeded. India’s response to the situation so far has been mellow, in contrast to the Chinese posturing which has been overly aggressive.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The spokesperson said Bhutan wants China to go back to the status quo that existed on the ground before June 16 and in essence India also wants that status quo to be restored. Speculation has been rife that differences between India and Bhutan have arisen over the Doklam crisis.“Differences between India and China should never become a dispute…We’ve said diplomatic channels are available and have been available. To the best of my understanding they have never stopped,” said Baglay when asked whether India will approach any international bodies such as the UN to intervene in the dispute.Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj made a strong statement in the Rajya Sabha and demanded that China withdraw its troops for the talks to begin. “We are saying that if a dialogue is to be held, then both should withdraw (their troops),” she said. The Chinese action “is a challenge to our security”, Swaraj said, adding that India was not doing anything unreasonable.She added that foreign countries are with India. “They feel that China is being aggressive with a small country like Bhutan. Bhutan has protested, including in writing. All the countries feel India’s stand is right and the law is with us,” Swaraj added.

Beijing ‘threatens security’ at tri-junction

• In the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said China intends to unilaterally change the status of the tri-junction with Bhutan, posing a challenge to India’s security
• On the standoff at Doklam, she referred to the written agreement between India, China and Bhutan in 2012 that the three nations would together decide on the boundaries at the tri-junction point
• She said China had been constructing roads earlier too, but now they had brought in bulldozers and excavators. “We are saying that the matter can be resolved through talks, but both sides have to first take back their armies,” she said

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EX-SERVICEMEN TAKES INITIATIVE TO CLEAN AND PAINT MARTYR MAJOR BHUPINDER SINGH MVC MEMORIAL AT LUDHIANA

A CAREER SPENT IN COUNTER­INSURGENCY OPERATIONS

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251 YOUTHS FROM STATE INDUCTED INTO ARMY

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WANT 100 PAK SOLDIERS KILLED FOR MY SON’S DEATH’