
‘PM Modi must agree now': Congress seeks debate on China ties; cites Army report on China giving live intel to Pakistan
NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Friday asked the Modi government to allow a full debate in parliament on India's relations with China. Senior party leader Jairam Ramesh made the demand concerning the latest confirmation by the army that China supported Pakistan during India's
Operation Sindoor
.
'This is the same China that changed the status quo in Ladakh five years ago. Yet, on 19 June 2020, Prime Minister Modi publicly gave them a clean chit,' Ramesh said in a post on X.
He further said: 'The Modi Govt must agree at least now so that a consensus can be built for a collective response to the geopolitical and economic challenges that China poses to India - directly and through Pakistan."
Ramesh also said that Congress had been asking for a detailed debate on India-China relations for five years, but the government had refused.
With the monsoon session of parliament set to begin on 21 July, the party plans to raise this issue again.
The Congress leader pointed out that China recently held a trilateral meeting with Pakistan and Bangladesh in Kunming, and India's trade deficit with China remained at record levels. He added that the border agreement reached with China had not restored the earlier status quo.
Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability development and sustenance), Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh on Friday said that China was providing live inputs to Pakistan during India's 'Operation Sindoor'.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn
IC Markets
Đăng ký
Undo
Speaking at the 'New age military technologies' event organised by FICCI, Lt Gen Singh said, "When the DGMO level talks were going on, Pakistan was getting live inputs of our deployment from China. So that is one place we really need to move fast and take appropriate action."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India Gazette
39 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Japan's Ambassador ONO Keiichi meets UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 4 (ANI): Ambassador of Japan to India, ONO Keiichi, met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Friday. The meeting came a day after the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi hosted the 'Conference of Battery and Critical Minerals Ecosystem' on July 3. Sharing details of the event on social media platform X, Ambassador ONO Keiichi wrote, 'Yesterday we hosted 'Conference of Battery and Critical Minerals Ecosystem' in the embassy. With more than 200 participants from more than 70 companies, we united for future collaboration in the sector between India and Japan.' The conference aligns with the broader push to strengthen India-Japan economic ties--a theme that was also highlighted earlier this year during the 48th Joint Meeting of the Japan-India Business Cooperation Committee (JIBCC) and its Indian counterpart, the India-Japan Business Cooperation Committee (IJBCC), held in New Delhi on March 6. Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the meeting, Ambassador ONO Keiichi said, 'Japan and India have been natural partners, and for more than 10 years, we have been special, strategic and global partners.' 'On the business side, we have a lot of investment and trade relations here. I believe it will grow in new economic areas like renewable energy, AI, IT, and others. Japanese businesses are keen on building relationships and making investments with Indian businesses,' he said. He also underscored Japan's interest in strengthening people-to-people ties. 'Japan will support India in achieving its goals for 2047,' the ambassador added. A day prior to the joint meeting, on March 5, a 17-member JIBCC delegation led by its chairman Tatsuo Yasunaga called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The delegation included senior leaders from major Japanese corporations in sectors such as manufacturing, banking, airlines, pharmaceuticals, plant engineering, and logistics. Yasunaga briefed the Prime Minister on the agenda of the joint meeting, which focused on areas including high-quality, low-cost manufacturing in India, scaling up production for global markets with a special focus on Africa, and deepening cooperation in human resource development and exchanges. The Prime Minister welcomed the expansion plans of Japanese businesses in India and reaffirmed their commitment to the 'Make in India, Make for the World' vision. He also highlighted skill development as a key pillar of India-Japan bilateral cooperation. (ANI)


Mint
42 minutes ago
- Mint
Trump's $7 billion education funding freeze blindsides schools
On Monday, state education leaders across the country got a brief but startling email from the Education Department. Nearly $7 billion in education funding—which Congress had approved and President Trump signed into law in March—wouldn't be released as expected the following day. The email didn't elaborate on why, mentioning a review. With the new school year not far off, the funding freeze has sent superintendents from California to Rhode Island scrambling to figure out how to handle a shortfall. The money had been earmarked for a range of activities, including after-school programs, teacher training, adult education and support for students learning English. 'It's too late to be making this kind of a decision," said Eric Mackey, the Alabama state superintendent, who describes himself as an 'old-fashioned fiscal conservative." On Tuesday, the association of state education chiefs convened an emergency meeting, as their members tried to advise confused district leaders. Advocacy groups attacked the decision as illegal, and educators began contemplating how to plan for the coming school year. Cheryl Jordan, the superintendent of a diverse, midsize district near San Jose, Calif., said she had planned to use some of the funds for teachers of students learning English and for an onboarding program for new teachers. If the money isn't released, it would leave a roughly $1.5 million hole in the district's budget. It's too late to make cuts for this school year, Jordan said, so the district would then accumulate a deficit and have to make deeper cuts the following school year. 'It will definitely greatly impact us," she said. Armen Tooloee, a spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the move reflected an 'ongoing programmatic review" and that 'no decisions have been made yet." He added that 'initial findings" from the review show that grants had gone to 'subsidize a radical leftwing agenda." Tooloee said that in one instance a grant had 'promote[d] illegal immigrant advocacy organizations." He didn't say what share of the funding has gone to uses that OMB deems inappropriate. The administration has made similar arguments for withholding funds for other federal initiatives, including for NPR and USAID. Mackey of Alabama said he wasn't aware of instances of such uses of funds in his state, and would want them brought to his attention if the administration were aware of any. The billions of dollars in question amount to less than 1% of total money spent on public schools. But the grants are spread widely across thousands of school districts and every state in the country. Chase Christensen, the superintendent and school principal of an 83-student district in northern Wyoming, said he had planned to use the funds to help train teachers on a new math curriculum and to continue a self-defense program. Without that money, he can probably preserve the teacher training but he isn't sure about the self-defense course, which Christensen says has boosted students' self-confidence. In Durham County, N.C., Superintendent Anthony Lewis is concerned about a dozen or so federally funded instructional coaches who mentor and support new teachers. Lewis doesn't know whether the money will ultimately come through or whether he should try to find another funding source. 'It's impacting our ability to plan effectively for this coming year," he said. The Trump administration has several possible next moves. It could ask Congress to approve the cancellation of these funds. It previously sought congressional approval for other withheld federal dollars. In a recent Senate hearing, OMB Director Russell Vought said further requests are 'certainly an option." The administration could on its own not distribute the funds—which would set up a challenge to a federal law that bars the executive from unilaterally withholding congressionally approved dollars. The administration could ultimately restore the grants, or some of them, after its review. Thomas Beck, an attorney who was on the Trump transition team where he wrote memos about withholding federal funds, said the administration might argue that states and schools have failed to adhere to the terms of the education grants. Lawmakers from both parties have raised objections. 'This funding was appropriated by Congress and is critical to Maine public school programs," Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) said. Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.) also criticized the move. This is the Trump administration's latest effort to cut federal dollars for local schools and shrink the Education Department's budget. Officials have argued that the department and some of its programs have proven ineffective. In March, Education Secretary Linda McMahon revoked a previously approved extension for spending Covid-relief money. A federal judge recently blocked this move, and schools have been able to tap in to this funding again. The administration has appealed. Angélica Infante-Green, the commissioner of education in Rhode Island, said she was particularly worried about withheld funding that has been used to train teachers in science-based reading instruction. 'It's just been so very chaotic for the last six months," she said. 'This is just another layer of that chaos." Write to Matt Barnum at


India Gazette
42 minutes ago
- India Gazette
"China testing their weapons for free against advanced weapons...need to be prepared well": Defence expert GD Bakshi
New Delhi [India], July 4 (ANI): Retired Major General GD Bakshi on Friday emphasised the need for strategic preparedness amid regional threats, particularly from China after Indian Army's recent comments on Operation Sindoor. The operation highlighted the changing nature of warfare and the necessity of technological readiness. 'China is testing their weapons for free against advanced weapons; hence, we need to be prepared well,' said Bakshi. This comes after Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance), Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh's statement that China shared live data on India assets and Turkey provided drones to Pakistan. Bakshi described the Deputy Army Chief's statement as 'measured,' highlighting India's smart handling of the situation and its air superiority. He noted that while India could have destroyed more terror sites, it chose not to prolong the war. 'It's a very measured statement. He said that Pakistan couldn't touch India's population centres, and we were able to destroy nine terror camps in the middle of their cities. He also noted that we handled the situation very smartly, not prolonging the war. We had total air superiority, it would not have been bad if we had destroyed all other terror sites...,' said Bakshi. China's actions have raised concerns about its role in regional conflicts, with India perceiving it as testing its weapons against advanced systems. India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 civilian lives. India maintained total air superiority during the conflict, allowing it to destroy nine terror camps in the middle of Pakistani cities. Lt Gen Rahul R Singh on Friday outlined several key lessons from Operation Sindoor, a conflict that exposed the changing nature of warfare and the necessity of technological readiness. Speaking at the 'New Age Military Technologies' event organised by FICCI, the Deputy COAS highlighted how air defence systems and modern warfare technology played a critical role during the operations. Acknowledging the Pakistan-China alliance, he pointed out that India faces 'two adversaries on one border,' with Pakistan on the frontlines and China providing significant strategic and hardware support. He noted that Pakistan's military fleet now consists of 81 per cent Chinese hardware, reinforcing the depth of their alliance. 'Air Defence and how it panned out during the entire operation was important... This time, our population centres were not quite addressed, but next time, we need to be prepared for that... So few lessons I must flag as far as Operation Sindoor is concerned. Firstly, we had one border and two adversaries, actually three. Pakistan was in the front. China was providing all possible support. In the last five years, 81% of the military hardware with Pakistan is Chinese...' he said. Further elaborating, the Deputy COAS stressed the need for a robust air defence system, revealing that Pakistan had real-time data on key Indian vectors shared by China. He said, 'China can test its weapons against other weapons, so it's like a live lab available to them. Turkey also played an important role in providing the type of support it did; they gave Bayraktar and numerous other drones... When DGMO-level talks were on, Pakistan had the live updates of our important vectors, from China... We need a robust air defence system...' Lt Gen Singh also commended the Indian Armed Forces for their precise execution of strikes on terror infrastructure. He stressed the importance of strategic messaging and the integration of data intelligence in planning. '... There are a few lessons from Operation Sindoor. The strategic messaging by leadership was unambiguous... There is no scope of absorbing the pain the way we did a few years ago... The planning and selection of targets was based on a lot of data that was collected using technology and human intelligence. So a total of 21 targets were identified, out of which nine targets we thought would be prudent to engage... It was only the final day or the final hour that the decision was taken that these nine targets would be engaged,' he said. He added, 'A considered decision was taken that it will be a tri-services approach to send the right message that we indeed are an integrated force... An important consideration was that we should always be at the top of the escalation ladder. When we reach a military objective, we should try and put a stop to it... War is easy to initiate, but it's very difficult to control. So I would say that was a very masterly stroke that was played to stop the war at an appropriate time.' (ANI)