Mulayam cautions Centre against Chinese incursion

New Delhi (PTI): Notwithstanding the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Ladakh, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Saturday cautioned the government against having any "misconception", saying the Chinese would make more such bids as it wants to "occupy" a vast Indian territory at any cost. Yadav, a former Defence Minister who has been voicing concerns over Chinese intentions, said "as of now, the Chinese troops may have retreated from Indian territory in Ladakh but they have plans to occupy a vast territory from Himachal Pradesh to Northeastern states." He said he had been cautioning the government for the last 10 years about China's intention and preparations but "nobody was taking him seriously" on this.

"China wants to occupy a vast Indian territory at any cost. The country has prepared itself for another attempt. Government should not have any misconception about China as it wants to occupy a vast portion of Indian border territory," Yadav said while addressing a book release function here. Chinese troops had pitched their tents 19 km into the Indian territory in Daulat Beg Oldi area in Ladakh from April 15 and moved out from there after remaining in a face-to-face situation for around three weeks, following prolonged discussions between the two countries. Yadav had also warned "China, not Pakistan, was the biggest enemy" and had demanded a firmer approach to Beijing. "China had shown seven Indian territories on its map as its own and had been telling the people of Arunachal Pradesh that you don't need visa to visit that country as you belong to our race," he said, adding this is the situation. During the Chinese incursion, the SP chief had attacked the Centre for showing "weakness" in dealing with the issue and wanted the intruders to be chased away instead of holding talks with "betrayer" China.