New Delhi: External Affairs Minister SM Krishna told the Lok Sabha that the Centre was not consulted on either the start or end of the project and had come to know of it only through media reports.
“The government of India had no role to play in starting the road project or halting (it). It was fully a decision, which the Jammu and Kashmir government took,” he said.
Mr Abdullah had also confirmed that the 8-km stretch, being constructed under NREGS, had been stopped after the Chinese Army objected to the road construction in Demchok, which is on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control.
China brought up the issue in a flag meeting and asked the Indian side
to stop work in the area it classified as ‘disputed territory’. Locals
had said the construction was stopped after the Chinese Army came to
the Indian side and stopped the work.
The government, which has continued to show inconsistency in its China policy, came in for some heavy criticism in the Lok Sabha with the Opposition accusing it of going soft on China.
