Congress Party Criticizes PM Modi Following Meeting with President Xi Jinping

The Congress party has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi's approach to normalizing relations with China as calibrated capitulation. The statement, issued by general secretary Jairam Ramesh on September 13, 2026, followed a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. During that meeting, the two leaders agreed that differences should not become disputes and committed to a mutually acceptable resolution of the boundary question.

The Congress party posed four questions to the Prime Minister, focusing on border security, foreign influence, and trade. The party questioned whether Modi's June 19, 2020, statement, which claimed no one had intruded into Indian territory during the Galwan clash, weakened India's negotiating position. The party further alleged that India has surrendered traditional patrolling and grazing rights in eastern Ladakh and expressed concern over Chinese encroachments in Arunachal Pradesh, including the renaming of locations and the proposed Medog mega-dam project on the Brahmaputra.

Regarding regional security, the Congress questioned a perceived softening of India's position on China's support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. This follows comments from July 2025 by Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh, who stated that India faced three adversaries during the conflict with Pakistan, including China and Turkey. On the economic front, the party highlighted a record trade deficit with China of 112.6 billion dollars in 2025-26, arguing that dependence on Chinese imports for critical materials has harmed domestic industry.

While both reports cover the same criticisms, they differ in their contextual framing. The center-left source frames the event as a direct challenge to the government's claim of steady progress in the relationship. The left-leaning source provides more detailed background on the 2020 Galwan Valley clash and the subsequent patrolling arrangements reached in October 2024.