Retired Lieutenant General RN Singh on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his "immature statement" on the India-China border issue.
"Rahul Gandhi's statement is totally out of tune from reality. Rahul Gandhi should know that these are very secretive things and cannot be divulged to the public. He should have supported the government. The public will know about the end results. Rahul Gandhi should support the government. He seems to be an immature and insensible person. Everything was resolved peacefully and both governments will find a long term solution," Retd Lt Gen Singh told .
RN Singh further said that China escalated the issue on the Ladakh border to divert the world's attention from the defamation it has been subject to due to the corona crisis.
"China took the initiative and they pushed their forces in the finger area of Ladakh. So, once they did it naturally our forces responded immediately. Then there was a stalemate," he said.
"The main reason as to why China took this initiative is that China was getting defamed on account of corona and they wanted to divert the attention of the world. India has world recognition and they thought India would be the best target. Both the countries refused USA negotiation on the dispute. Both the countries pulled back their troops by 2-2.5 km after the meeting," he added.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi on June 9 asked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh if Chinese troops have occupied Indian territory in Ladakh.
"Once RM is done commenting on the hand symbol, can he answer: Have the Chinese occupied Indian territory in Ladakh?" the Congress leader had tweeted.
India and China have been locked in a dispute over the heavy military build-up by People's Liberation Army (PLA) where they have brought in more than 5,000 troops along the Eastern Ladakh sector.
The Chinese Army's intent to carry out deeper incursions was checked by the Indian security forces by quick deployment.
The Chinese have also brought in heavy vehicles with artillery guns and infantry combat vehicles in their rear positions close to the Indian territory.
A meeting between military commanders of India and China to discuss and resolve the stand-off in Eastern Ladakh also took place on June 6.
Later, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the two countries have agreed to "peacefully" resolve the situation in the border areas by continuing the military and diplomatic engagements.
( With inputs from ANI )