As the situation between India and China is heating up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), constant efforts are being made to push the Chinese narrative from some suspected quarters. Last month, reports has emerged that the Indian forces had occupied some strategically important positions at the south bank of the Pangong Tso lake.
However, soon after the reports came, a video that claimed to be of some Chinese tourists in the Pangong Tso lake went viral on social media. The video was soon picked by Congress supporters who started questioning the forces on the basis of this video. In no time, the Congress supporters starting attacking PM Modi on the basis of the video, insinuating that if Chinese tourists are seen in Pangong Tso lake, it is under Chinese control. Here are some of the tweets of Congress leaders and supporters who used the video to target the Prime Minister.
Sharing the video, Congress leader Salman Nizami claimed that Chinese tourists were there in the Pangong Tso lake. He referred to PM Modi as “56-inch Chowkidar” and questioned whether Indian needed a visa to visit Pangong Tso.
A similar claim was made by Saral Patel, National Convener of Congress’ Social Media Department.
Jumping on the bandwagon, the National Spokesperson of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) also supported the claims of Chinese tourits vacationing in the Pangong Tso lake. She said that the PM Modi has been lying that no Indian territory was annexed by China.
Ashok Swain, who is apparently a Professor at Uppsala University, Sweden and is a habitual fake news peddler and riot monger, also jumped in and said that the Indian defence journalists could now report directly from China by travelling through the Pangong Tso lake instead of reporting from Leh or Delhi.
The lie was further peddled by the National Coordinator of the Digital Communications and Social Media Department of Congress, Gaurav Pandhi by comparing the video of the Chinese tourists with a snippet from the movie Three Idiots, insinuating that back in 2009 the lake was part of Indian territory and now it is part of China.
What is the reality?
In peddling these lies about the Pangong Tso river and using them to attack the Prime Minister, the Congress members and supporters exposed their mental bankruptcy as well as their malicious intentions. The Indian government never claimed that the Indian forces had occupied the whole of Pangong Tso lake. In fact, Pangong Tso lake lies partially in India and partially in Tibet which is occupied by China. Around 60 percent of the length of the lake lies in Tibet. The video of the Chinese tourists vacationing in the lake is of the part of the lake that lies in China.
The lake is approximately 83 miles long. Though the exact demarcation of the end of Indian territory and beginning of the Chinese territory has been contested, only the western part of the lake comes under Indian territory.
Ever since the situation along the LAC escalated, Congress has been soft on China and instead has been attacking the Indian government. This situation became clear only after photos of Rahul Gandhi signing MoU with the Minister of International Department of Central Committee of the CCP were leaked. The news of an agreement between the Congress and the CCP came as a shock to people especially in view of the clash between the forces of the two countries at the Galwan valley. The Chief Justice of India Ashok Bobde also expressed concern over the agreement and said that this was something unheard of legally.
