Govt briefs Mulayam over Chinese incursion issue

Against the backdrop of sharp attack by Samajwadi Party on the government over the Chinese incursion, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday briefed its party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav about the government's stand and strategy to deal with the issue.

Khurshid, along with Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy, met Yadav in Parliament House Friday morning.

SP sources said Yadav was briefed about the government's stand and strategy to deal with the incursion in Ladakh region. The issue of Sarabjit Singh also cropped up during the 40-minute discussion, they said.

"Now government is showing some seriousness. But the need is to drive the Chinese out of our territory...it is a very serious matter," Yadav later told reporters outside Parliament House.

The SP chief said the Chinese army had entered 1 km inside Indian territory when he was the defence minister. "I directed the (Indian) forces to drive them out. We entered 4 km inside Chinese territory in the process," he claimed.

Yadav said he told Khurshid that "Chinese cannot be trusted."

When asked about the meeting, Khurshid said, "I briefed him (Yadav) on various things."

A crucial outside ally of the UPA, Samajwadi Party had recently attacked the government in Lok Sabha over the Chinese incursion in Ladakh. The party had accused the government of acting in a "cowardly" manner and objected to Khurshid's forthcoming visit to China.

Yadav had said in the Lower House that the Chinese incursion was an "attack" on India and asked the government to retaliate even if it leads to war.

The SP supremo said China was the biggest threat India faced. He also asked the government to immediately cancel Khurshid's proposed Beijing visit.

Image: Mulayam Singh Yadav

Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters