Union minister GK Reddy slams China, Pakistan for interfering in Indian affairs

SRINAGAR: Union minister of state for home affairs GK Reddy on Monday slammed China and Pakistan for interfering in India’s internal affairs and reiterated that not an inch of land would be ceded to any country.
“Who is China or Imran Khan to talk about the internal matters of India? (J&K reorganization bill) was passed for the development of this region,” said Reddy in an interaction with journalists in Leh.

Reddy is on a two-day tour to the newly formed Union Territory of Ladakh in the wake of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Elections scheduled for October 22.

Referring to the India-China faceoff in Ladakh as a “sensitive issue”, the minister said “daily commentary is not possible”. “Our Army is working on borders in tough conditions. We believe in them. Weekly talks are going on and let us wait what comes out of that,” said Reddy. Taking a dig at political parties like Congress, National Conference and People’s Democratic Party, the minister said that by calling for restoration of Article 370 and questioning Ladakh’s UT status, they are making “anti-national” statements.

“China opposes (August 5 and 6 decisions) Pakistan opposes it. Here, NC, Congress and PDP oppose it. These parties are talking in the tone and tenor of foreign countries,” said Reddy. He took a dig at NC’s Farooq Abdullah for seeking China’s help in restoration of Article 370 in J&K.

“No citizen of India can give such a statement at this crucial juncture when there is tension between the two countries in Ladakh,” he said. Reddy urged voters in Ladakh to boycott Congress in the upcoming elections. In the 30-member LAHDC, 26 members are elected, while four are nominated, with no voting rights. This year, the contest is mainly between the two national parties as NC and PDP haven’t filed any nominations.