Senior leader of the Congress party, Priyanka Gandhi, on Tuesday shared a piece of news where it was claimed that Railways had earned 900 crore rupees through fees for exam-related registration process. The claim was that the fees for the exams have gone from Rs. 60 in 2013 to Rs 500 now.
Priyanka Gandhi said, “The fee of Railway Recruitment Board till 2013 was 60 rupees. The BJP government increased it to Rs 500 in 2016. The Railway Recruitment Board has recovered Rs 900 crore in the name of recruitment from the unemployed.”
Priyanka Gandhi shares fake news
The PIB has now debunked the news. It said that the claim that the fees for railway recruitment board has been increased to Rs 500 is wrong. It was announced that Rs 400 is refunded to candidates from unreserved and OBC categories and the amount is refunded in full to women, people from reserved categories and those with disabilities. As per reports, the amount charged for the latter categories is Rs 250 which is refunded later.
सोशल मीडिया पर दावा किया जा रहा है कि सरकार ने रेलवे भर्ती बोर्ड की फीस को बढ़ाकर 500 रुपए कर दिया है।#PIBFactCheck: यह दावा भ्रामक है। अनारक्षित व ओबीसी परीक्षार्थियों को ₹400 व आरक्षित श्रेणी के परीक्षार्थियों, महिलाओं और दिव्यांगों को पूरा पंजीकरण शुल्क वापस किया जाता है। pic.twitter.com/TmSLRkis5s
The only catch here is that the amount is refunded only to those who appear for the exams. In case someone registers for the exam but does not appear for it, the amount is not refunded to them. Thus, even for those who appear for the exam, the maximum fees effectively is Rs 100.
News reports had emerged early last year which claimed that the Railway Recruitment Board had earned Rs 500 crores from candidates. However, even those reports had mentioned that the amount is refunded if the candidate appears for the exams.
Thus, in the current instance, Priyanka Gandhi appears to be using misleading news from the past in order to target the Modi Government, something that she and her party is prone to doing in recent times.
Amidst numerous reported cases of grooming jihad, an 18-year-old girl who had converted to Islam to marry a man named Sohel has accused her husband and father-in-law of raping her. According to a report of Aaj Tak, the victim is from Rohini area.
Husband raped her after sedating her before marriage
According to the report, the victim had converted to Islam and had married Sohail three months back in Delhi’s Tees Hazari court. The victim said that she became friends with Sohail when she was in school. She was a minor at that time. She alleged that Sohail had sedated her by mixing some intoxicating substance in her drink and had raped her. She further alleged that her father-in-law Shafeeq Ahmed also raped her after she got married to Sohail. The 18-year old victim has accused her mother-in-law of forcing her into prostitution.
Case filed and accused arrested
A case has reportedly been filed by police at Aman Vihar police station. Her husband and father-in-law have been arrested by the police. However, police have reportedly said that this was not a case of ‘Love Jihad’. DCP Rohini PK Mishra said that the victim and her husband have been friends since school days. They know each other for three years. The victim had married the accused three months ago in Tees Hazari court.
States brought laws to deal with cases of Love Jihad
Recently, laws were passed in some states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, particularly to deal with cases in which victims, usually non-Muslim women are targeted by men who hide their identity and later force them for conversion. The laws penalise forced and deceitful conversions. This came after a Hindu girl named Nikita Tomar was shot dead in broad daylight by a man named Tousif after she refused his advances and pressure to convert into Islam.
An Irish inquiry examining the deaths of babies and children at church-run homes for unwed mothers will submit its final report on Tuesday, revealing the grim details of the network of the religious institutions in Ireland that abused and shamed children conceived out of wedlock and their unfortunate mothers for the much of the 20th century.
Michéal Martin, the taoiseach, who has already read the 3,000-page report that is to be submitted on Tuesday said that the contents of it were shocking and difficult to read. He is to give a formal apology in the Dail on Wednesday.
It is reported that 9,000 children died in 18 institutions between 1922 and 1998 when the last such home closed, as per a leak published in the Sunday Independent. The infant mortality rate is said to have been double the national rate, underscoring the impact of neglect, malnutrition and callousness towards children born out of wedlock.
Relatives claimed that babies were mistreated because they were born to unmarried women who, like their children, were seen as a smudge on Ireland’s reputation as a devout Catholic nation.
Church-run homes were financed and regulated by the State
Another source of grievance for the survivors is the policy of the religious organisations and the state from tracing each other. Ireland has strict rules governing the adopted people which prohibits them the legal right to own their information and files. The report is believed to have recorded lies and obfuscations of priests, nuns and other church officials. The report comes even as Church’s standing in Ireland has already taken a severe beating over the numerous scandals of paedophile priests, workhouse abuses, forced adoption of illegitimate babies and several other issues.
It is also pertinent to note that the church presided over many of Ireland’s social services in the 20th century while the religious institutions and the homes run by them received state funding and, as adoption agencies, were also regulated by the state. The occurrence of a massive number of infant deaths despite the financial support and the administrative oversight over the church-run homes is a scathing indictment of the state’s negligence in holding religious institutions accountable.
Anne Harris, 70, who gave birth to a son in a church-run home in County Cork in 1970 opined that Irish society is quite rigid and judgmental about children who have not born out of legitimate wedding. She said these institutions were where women were condemned to live so as to keep them away out of sight.
Joan Burton, a former deputy prime minister who born into one such home in 1949, said the inquiry’s revelations were milestones in chronicling a system that risks being forgotten in a country which is no longer bounded by the Catholic Church precepts.
“The report will divulge gory details of what Ireland once did to the younger generation of people, what it did to women who had the temerity to love outside the marriage and give birth to children who had to be ‘given up’, Burton wrote in the Irish Independent. “It will allow us as a society to ask questions on why such kind of brutality was endured for so long.”
The Irish government on Monday apologised to the survivors for the media leak over the weekend, which undermined a promise to give them first access to the report before publication. The government is also mulling over providing compensation and legislation to help mother and their children trace each other, should they wish.
Irish government launches investigation after historian Catherine Corless uncovered evidence of mass grave
The inquiry into the inequities meted out to the babies and children came to the fore after a historian, Catherine Corless, found death certificates of 800 children who were residents of at Bon Secours mother and baby home in Tuam but burial records for only two. Corless claimed that she had been haunted by childhood memories of skinny children from the home.
The evidence uncovered by Corless prompted the administration to institute a judicial commission to investigate the shocking death rates and apathy in religious institutions that also acted as orphanages and adoption centres. In 2017, state-appointed investigators found a mass grave containing the remains of babies and children at the site of Church-run homes for unmarried mothers and their children. The excavations found an underground structure divided into 20 chambers containing “significant quantities of human remains”, the commission said in its interim report.
The Supreme Court of India has decided that it will form a committee to resolve the current stand off over the farmer protests. The committee will be part of judicial proceedings. “We believe in the Committee and we are going to constitute it. This Committee will be the part of judicial proceedings,” CJI Bobde told the Attorney General.
CJI turns to the Attorney General :
"We believe in the Committee and we are going to constitute it. This Committee will be the part of judicial proceedings", CJI tells AG.#FarmersProtests#SupremeCourt#FarmLaws
The CJI also said that the Supreme Court has the power to suspend the law but “the suspension of legislation must not be for an empty purpose.” It was also insisted that every party that seeks a resolution to the matter must appear before the Committee.
CJI : Every person who is genuinely interested in solving the problem is expected to go before the Committee. The Committee will not punish you or pass any orders. It will submit a report to us.#FarmersProtests#SupremeCourt#FarmLaws
Responding to the news that farmers had decided to not appear before the Committee, CJI Bobde said, “We don’t want to hear an argument that farmers will not go to the committee. We are looking to solve the problem. If you want to agitate indefinitely, you can.”
AP Singh, appearing for BKU-Bhanu, said that farmers had agreed to send senior citizens back home after hearing the concerns of the Court. The Court also appreciated the stand that the elderlies, women and children will not participate in the current protests.
Senior Advocate Harish Salve said that nobody is interested in the judicial process. He said, “I don’t know who ML Sharma represents. He has filed a petitioner in person and says negative things. We don’t have Dave, Phoolka and Colin Gonsalves today, though they said they represent nearly 400 protesters. This is really concerning.”
A petitioner also remarked that banned outfits have infiltrated the protests. The Court asked the Attorney General to confirm whether it was true, to which he replied that he had already stated that Khalistanis were involved.
AP Singh also said that they want retired Justices Kurian Joseph and Markandeya Katju to be part of the Committee but the CJI did not appear too enthusiastic about that.
In the end, the implementation of the three laws were suspended. “We are going to suspend the implementation of the three farm laws until further orders,” it was announced. Agricultural economist Ashok Gulati, Harsimrat Mann, Pramod Joshi are some names that were mentioned by the CJI as committee members.
Raipur Police have registered a case against Congress councillor Kamran Ansari for allegedly assaulting a tribal youth in Raipur’s Raja Talab area on January 10. The legal action against the Congress councillor and his aides was initiated after a viral video purportedly showed them thrashing the youth. According to reports, the alleged incident took place on Sunday but the video of the assault went viral on social media on Monday.
The case was registered against Ansari, who is the corporator from Lal Bahadur Shastri ward, his brother and some others at Civil Lines police station late evening based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s mother.
Chhattisgarh: Raipur Police have registered an FIR against Congress councillor Kamran Ansari and some of his associates for allegedly abusing and beating up a person in Raja Talab area on January 10.
The video of the purported incident went viral on social media. BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ramvichar Netam also took to the microblogging site to share the video.
सत्ता के नशे में चूर कांग्रेस पार्टी के जनप्रतिनिधि द्वारा आदिवासी समाज की महिला एवं उसके पुत्र के साथ इस प्रकार का अत्याचार कांग्रेस पार्टी का जनजातीय समाज के प्रति सोच को दर्शाता है । इस घटना की जितनी भत्सना कि जाए उतनी कम है । भाजपा परिवार पीड़ित परिवार के साथ सदैव खड़ा है । pic.twitter.com/QtYQB08hDa
In the video of the incident, the Congress councillor and his associates can be seen kicking, and blowing punching at the youth. They use sticks to mercilessly beat him up. The helpless mother of the victim, who has been identified as Jai Mandavi, intervenes and tries to rescue her son, but remains unsuccessful. The incident happened in full public view in broad daylight on Sunday.
According to the complaint, Jai Mandavi had gone to the corporator’s office for some work related to a labourer job card on Sunday when Ansari and others assaulted him.
After the incident, the victim fled and is yet to return home.
The accused have been booked under Sections 294 (obscene acts and songs), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). After the incident, the Congress corporator also got an FIR registered against the victim in this case. Police have made no arrest in the case so far.
The victim’s mother has said that after the assault, Ansari went to their house and threatened her. She said that she pleaded before the councillor to forgive her son, but he remained unaffected.
On the other hand, the Congress councillor Kamran Ansari alleged that the youth reached his office in an inebriated state with an intention to ransack and vandalise hie office. Refuting the allegations levelled at him, Ansari said that Mandavi is a habitual offender against whom he had earlier lodged a police complaint.
“This man often creates nuisance in a drunken state in the locality. I have earlier lodged a complaint to the police against him. On Sunday, he came to my office and allegedly pelted bricks and stones there. I immediately informed the police and tried to prevent him but he attacked me. Everyone in the area knows that he is a habitual offender. Allegations being levelled on me by his family are baseless,” said Ansari.
Meanwhile, local BJP leaders, who reached the police station, condemned the incident and demanded strict action against the Congress corporator.
China has reportedly pulled back its troops from depth areas in Ladakh and has positioned them in rear positions as the standoff between India and China continues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). According to reports, the country has withdrawn around 10,000 soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from the Ladakh theatre. Citing officials, reports claim that the frontline deployments of the PLA have not changed.
Extreme weather conditions may be the reason behind PLA troops reduction
Reports suggest extreme weather conditions in the sector as the reason by the repositioning of troops by China. Both India and China have reportedly deployed total 100,000 troops and weaponry in their forward and depth areas. According to former Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General (retd), DS Hooda, “In winters, large-scale or even limited military operations are ruled out. That’s possibly the reason why the PLA has withdrawn troops from depth areas”.
Citing officials, reports say that the reduction in PLA troops in Ladakh theatre happened over the last week to 10 days and that the possibility of re-induction of troops by the PLA in the sector cannot be ruled out. It has been over eight months since the Ladakh standoff between India and China. Soldiers have been holding forward positions at friction points battling extreme weather conditions. Eight rounds of military talks have been held between the two countries so far.
CDS on a two-day tour to Ladakh
Chief of Defence (CDS) Staff General Bipin Rawat had reached Leh for a security review of the sensitive area on Monday. The same day Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria also visited the forward areas in the sector and interacted with troops deployed there. General Rawat is also expected to visit forward locations in Kashmir during his two-day tour. He is also expected to be briefed by the local military leadership on the prevailing security situation.
Satellite imagery shows infrastructure up-gradation by China
According to reports, satellite imagery has revealed that China is working on creating a major logistics hub at Xigatse in Tibet. Experts reportedly see this as part of China’s efforts to build up connectivity and infrastructure for operations along the LAC. The satellite imagery shows infrastructure upgrades south in Xigatse airport that link the facility to a mail terminal. A surface-to-air missile site, a suspected military support building, a new railway terminal and new railway line and a possible fuel dump are among the imagery captured by satellite. A new developed underground facility is also among the imagery.
The imagery was shared by an open-source intelligence analyst who goes by Twitter id @detresfa showing the infrastructure upgrades.
Infrastructure upgrades south of Xigaze Airport, #Tibet show the aerodrome being linked to a rail terminal, possibly developing it into a future logistics hub for #China#PLA, additionally spotted nearby is a new suspected underground facility that warrants further monitoring pic.twitter.com/AeiqbxumVV
Few days ago, on January 9, a Chinese soldier was apprehended by the Indian Army near Gulung hill in Chushul sector of eastern Ladakh. The PLA soldier had reportedly lost his way and entered the Indian territory.
The farmer protest at the Delhi border has long lost its credibility as it got hijacked by middlemen, Khalistanis and other Left and Islamist elements. After the PFI extending support and United Against Hate of Delhi riots fame got involved, now, the veteran protestor and anti-India writer, Arundhati Roy has reached the venue of the farmer protest to foment trouble.
On the 9th of January, Arundhati Roy addressed a gathering of BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) members at a protest site at Bahadurgarh. Speaking to the farmers, she started with her usual trope about how ‘Godi media’ (A pejorative term Leftists seem to use for media houses who don’t tow their line) has already branded her a Naxalite and anti-national, and hence, she did not ‘come to meet’ the farmers earlier, lest they too be branded the same. However, since the media had now already branded them as ‘terrorists’, she has now come to meet them.
Interestingly, in reality, the media has given a rather long rope to these protesting ‘farmers’ and tarnished anyone who raised legitimate questions. For example, when Khalistani elements were making statements about assassinating the Prime Minister, the media looked away and tarnished those who were asking questions about the presence of Khalistanis. When it emerged that most of the farmers were not even aware about the provisions of the 3 farm laws, that they were protesting against, the media that is sympathetic to any cause that creates fault-lines in India jumped to action to defend the ignorance.
She goes on to say that the entire country is watching the ‘farmers’ at the Delhi border and have pinned their hopes on them. Strangely, she says that this protest had made a reality on-ground, everything that people like her were writing for the past 20 years. Considering Arundhati Roy is the same author who called armed terrorists and Naxals ‘Gandhians with guns’, this statement of hers does not really inspire much confidence.
The most dangerous aspect of her speech, however, comes later.
She says that the government is doing with them, or is going to do them, exactly what “they did to those fighting in Bastar”. While speaking to the farmers, she defended the actions of Naxals from Bastar saying that they are “fighting” because the government took away their Jal, Jungle, Zameen of the Adivasis and gave it away to big industrialists. She then goes on to say that the same game is being played with farmers.
This rhetoric and just how dangerous it is can be understood from a 2018 interview OpIndia conducted of Pahad Singh, a surrendered Naxal, who “fought” in the jungle for 18 long years.
Pahad Singh said that these “nithale budhijeevi” (jobless intellectuals) are misleading the adivasis and that he too was lured into Naxalism by rhetoric about Jal, Jungle, Zameen.
It was in the jungles while collecting tendu leaves that he had first seen Naxals. He recalled that the Naxals used to approach the Tribals and claim that they are fighting for Tribal rights. Adivasi Asmita. The Naxals used to tell the Tribals that the government is corrupt and unable to provide employment to Tribals hence they should join them to fight for their dignity.
Pahad Singh was asked what he thinks about the contradiction displayed by the ‘jobless intellectuals’ (his term) as they claim on one hand that Tribals are being suppressed by Brahminical impositions by the government and on the other hand they use Tribals themselves to labour and serve them while they dictate rules. His reply was that there is a huge difference between the words and deeds of the Naxal leaders. They preach about Tribals rights and powers while being completely ignorant about the basic structures and needs of the Tribal population.
Upon being asked about who were the people who dictate and rule over the Tribals sitting in ‘Chaar Manzil’ (A hill with bolsters where the Central Committee members or the Naxal ideologues sit), he replied that there were hypocrites who talk tall on Tribal rights and justice. They had power, they had weapons. The Tribals they recruit have no idea about the realities of the world, many of them are the kind of innocent souls who had never seen a train in their lives, such people are exploited for their service and often their lives so the ‘jobless intellectuals’ can run their agenda and enjoy comfortable lives in cities. He asserted that the Tribals don’t even know who the head of the village is, forget understanding what Mao’s ideology was. They trust whoever convinces them in the name of ‘Jal, Jungle, Zameen’ (water, forest, land). He adds that while the rest of the world has been progressing with science and development how can a failed ideology uplift the Tribals. It is worthy to note here, that Pahad Singh himself had seen the city perhaps for the first time in 18 long years.
Pahad Singh said that the Tribal areas are full of natural resources and that is the reason why Naxal leaders strive to keep control over the forest areas. They demand a share from contractors and businessmen for every natural product and mineral obtained from the forests. Crores of rupees are accumulated and none of it goes to the Tribals or the lower cadre Naxals. All the money goes to the higher committee. He reveals that the lower cadre Naxals get neither salaries nor benefits. Their families are told that the service to the Maoist cause should be selfless and dedicated. He further adds that the top leaders and urban Naxals often maintain another face for the outside world so the government and media do not get to know of their activities in the Tribal areas.
It is thus extremely evident that the trope of ‘Jal, Jungle, Zameen’ is used to lure poor vanvaasis into picking up arms against the state and while ideologues like Arundhati Roy earn handsomely, it is the lives of the foot-soldiers that are sacrificed.
Essentially, it is evident that the attempt here is not just to radicalise the so-called farmers sitting on protest and ensure that they rise up against the government, but also, defend the Naxals who are fighting against the state and murdering police personnel, on the insistence of “jobless intellectuals”.
On Monday, the incumbent US President Donald Trump approved a proposal to declare emergency in the District of Columbia between January 11 to January 24, 2021, in the aftermath of the unrest caused by the US Capitol riots ahead of the 59th Presidential Inauguration of newly elected Joe Biden.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the District of Columbia and ordered Federal assistance to supplement the District’s response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from the 59th Presidential Inauguration from January 11 to January 24, 2021,” the press release read. As such, the Department of Homeland Security under Thomas J. Fargione, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under administrator Pete Gaynor will co-ordinate with the District of Columbia to mitigate hardships caused to the people.
BREAKING: President Trump approves Washington, D.C. emergency declaration, ahead of the inauguration of Pres.-elect Biden, from Jan. 11 to Jan. 24. pic.twitter.com/eA9ZiY6sim
Under Title V of the Stafford Act, the federal authorities will provide assistance to people during the period of Emergency and save public property, health and avert any threat of a catastrophe. “Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct Federal assistance, will be provided at 100 per cent Federal funding,” the press release added.
Trump supporters attack US Capitol Hill
On January 6, The supporters of the outgoing US President Donald Trump had wreaked havoc in the nation’s capital leaving four people dead. The police in Washington DC, have arrested as many as 52 people after supporters of US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Hill building and disrupted proceedings.
Amidst the chaos, visuals had emerged where the frenzied pro-Trump mob were seen attacking media crews. Many videos had surfaced on Twitter, where the protestors, amidst “go back” slogans, are seen breaking the cameras and vandalizing other types of equipment of the media, outside the US Capitol Hill building in Washington DC.
Congress certifies Electoral College result
The Electoral College vote has been accepted by the US Congress which has certified the victory for Joe Biden in the US Presidential Elections 2020 making him the president-elect of the United States officially. Donald Trump mounted numerous challenges but to no avail. Joe Biden will take oath as the President of the United States of America on the 20th of January, 2021. Moreover, Democrats have won both the Senate races in Georgia which means that Joe Biden will enter the White House with Democrats controlling both the US Senate and the House.
Following the storming of Capitol Hill, two of Donald Trump’s favoured banks have decided that they will no longer do business with the billionaire.
Deutsche Bank to desist from doing business with Trump
As reported by Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank AG would desist from being involved in further business with Trump and his company, said a person privy to the details of the matter on condition of anonymity. Trump currently owes more than $300 million to the Frankfurt-based bank.
The bank further noted that there was no other way to severe the relationship with Donald Trump before the loans become due in the next few years, other than forgiving the huge sum, The NYTimes reported.
Deutsche Bank has been associated with Trump since the late 1990s and had lent more than $2 billion in the two years to November 2020. According to the reports, the bank was growing weary of the serious collateral damage it was enduring from the bad press resulting from its relationship with the embattled US president.
Last month, Deutsche Bank had announced that Trump’s long time banker had resigned. Rosemary Vrablic was the point of contact between the US president and the German lender that lent hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to Trump’s company over the last several years. Because of the relationship, the lender was subjected to pressure and coercion for information during Trump’s presidency.
Signature Bank snaps ties with the outgoing US President Donald Trump
Besides Deutsche Bank, New York-headquartered Signature Bank, that has long catered to Trump’s family, announced that it is snapping ties with the US President while insisting that he must resign from his constitutional position. Signature is all set to close down two personal accounts in which Trump has held about $5.3 million, a spokesperson for the bank said.
“We believe the most appropriate action would be the resignation of the US President, which is in the best interests of our nation and the American people,” the bank said in a statement on Monday.
The suspension of ties with the US President comes on the heels of social media giants and other companies severing their relationship with Donald Trump after he spurred attendees at a rally to march on the Capitol, where they stormed the building and disrupted the certification of the electoral college vote. At least 5 people died in the ensuing chaos and its aftermath.
Signature Bank had close association not just with Trump but others close to him such Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Michael Cohen. A decade ago, the bank appointed Ivanka on its board, but she resigned two years later.
“We have never before commented on any political matter and hope to never do so again,” the statement released by Signature Bank said. The bank further added it won’t do any business with the members of Congress who voted to disregard the electoral college.
In a new development, China has been setting up a new military logistics hub in Xigatse region of Tibet, amidst the ongoing border standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as per reports.
As per reports, this was revealed by new satellite imagery, which showed that China was undertaking infrastructure development, enhancing connectivity in Xigatse to further its operations. An open-source intelligence analyst (@detresfa)uploaded the images on Twitter. The satellite images discovered a military support building, surface-to-air missile site, fuel dump, a new railway line and a terminal.
Infrastructure upgrades south of Xigaze Airport, #Tibet show the aerodrome being linked to a rail terminal, possibly developing it into a future logistics hub for #China#PLA, additionally spotted nearby is a new suspected underground facility that warrants further monitoring pic.twitter.com/AeiqbxumVV
Besides, the images also captured an underground facility, comprising of two tunnel entrances. According to security analyst Sim Tack, the facility could be used for storing missile systems. As per a report in Hindustan Times, Tack emphasised that China is undertaking massive infrastructure upgrades in Tibet along the LAC, starting from Aksai Chin to Arunachal Pradesh.
New structures coming up everyday, say experts
Tack said, “All of these logistical upgrades, including the construction of rail connectivity and utilities, appear to be aimed at quickly moving large numbers of forces within Tibet and from other parts of China to Tibet.” Sim Tack pointed out that while China had earlier been upgrading its forward positions in Aksai Chin region, the new satellite images provided evidence of the development of logistical facilities. He added that new structures are coming up every day in Tibet, many of which are concentrated near Golmund in Qinghai province.
The Communist regime in China is also planning to extend the railway line from the Xigatse railway station all the way up to Nepal for the rapid movement of its military hardware and troops. Reports had also claimed that China has also been setting up villages in uninhabited areas along the disputed borders with Bhutan and India.
Expansonist policies of China
While China denies being expansionist, the country has actually been inventing new territorial claim against other countries. At the 58th meeting of the Global Environment Facility Council last year, China tried to oppose funding to a project for the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan claiming that it was “disputed” territory. China claimed this despite the fact that there is no history of dispute over the area, and the Wildlife Sanctuary is located far away from China-Bhutan border.
In fact, areas of Arunachal Pradesh lies between the border and the forest area. Bhutan had strongly opposed this claim by China, and other countries also supported Bhutan in the matter, but China still insisted that it should be recorded that China had opposed the funding. Similarly, China has started a new dispute with Russia over Vladivostok, the Pacific port city in eastern Russia. Chinese officials slammed Russian embassy officials in China this week for celebrating 160th founding anniversary of the city, saying that the area originally belonged to China.
Chinese diplomats, journalists, and internet users launched an online attack on Russian embassy officials on Weibo and other Chinese social media sites, just because the Russian city belonged to China centuries ago. The Primorsky Krai territory and its capital Vladivostok were part of the Qing’s Manchurian homeland but was annexed by Russia during the Tsar empire in 1860 following China’s defeat at the hands of Britain and France in the second opium war.
