Rahul Gandhi had posted that soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom”. He was fact-checked by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who said soldiers always carry arms but the rules of engagement do not allow use firearms during face-offs.
Indian soldiers were assaulted with iron rods and clubs wrapped in barbed wire laced with nails in the fight with the Chinese in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, close to the Line of Actual Control. Many were thrown off a steep ridge and some of the soldiers fell into the river Galwan.
Mr Jaishankar told his China counterpart Wang Yi the incident would have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship and China must take corrective steps. But both ministers agreed that “neither side would take any action to escalate matters.”
