New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi should step forward and explain to the nation how China managed to grab Indian territory and why 20 soldiers had to sacrifice their lives for the nation, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi said today. In a 3-minute video, she also posed a series of tough questions for the Prime Minister and announced that the party stands with the armed forces and the government.

On Monday evening, a clash in Ladakh’s Galwan valley area cost the lives of 20 Indian soldiers – some of them bludgeoned to death. The Chinese side also sustained losses, sources had said, in the violence that had been first in nearly five decades.

The Prime Minister Mrs Gandhi said, needs to say what the situation at the spot is right now.

“Are our soldiers or their commanders still missing? How many of our soldiers and their commanders are seriously injured? How much of our land has been occupied by China and in which areas? What is the government’s thought, strategy and plan to resolve this situation?” said Mrs Gandhi, who took up the reins of the party last year after her son Rahul Gandhi stepped down from the post of the party chief.

Mr Gandhi had also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, accusing him of “hiding” in this critical hour.

Questioning what he called the Prime Minister’s “silence” over the deadliest border incident between India and China in decades, he tweeted:

Why is the PM silent?
Why is he hiding?

Enough is enough. We need to know what has happened.

How dare China kill our soldiers?
How dare they take our land?

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 17, 2020

Later he also posted a video, exhorting the Prime Minister to “Come out and tell the truth” and not be “scared”.

PM Modi has called an all-party virtual meeting on Friday to discuss the situation at the India-China border. Presidents of various political parties will participate in the meeting at 5 pm, the Prime Minister’s Office said this morning.

At a meeting with Chief Ministers on the coronavirus crisis today, PM Modi observed two-minutes’ silence as a tribute to the soldiers who died for the country in Ladakh and said their sacrifice will not go in vain.

In a strong message to China, he added, “No one should be in any doubt. India wants peace but when provoked, it is capable of giving a fitting reply, be it any situation”.