The Congress hit back at External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday after he took Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to task for criticising the government over the India-China military faceoff in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala rebutting the claims shared a video of Indian and Chinese troops faceoff and said, "Let us not muddle facts, S Jaishankar. Please see the video on social media and tell why no firearms are being carried."
"And stop quoting Agreement on Border Management to justify sending soldiers unarmed in tactical military situation with lives at stake," said Surjewala.
Jaishankar had rebutted Gandhi on Twitter over the issue and said in a tweet "Let us get the facts straight. All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post."
"Those at Galwan on 15 June did so. Longstanding practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs," he wrote.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi had tweeted a video asking why Indian soldiers were "unarmed" during the face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night.
( With inputs from IANS )