The Congress on Thursday questioned the Modi government’s handling of issues relating to China, citing conflicting assessments by senior military officials on Beijing’s involvement in Operation Sindoor and incursions along the India-China border. It accused the Centre of keeping Parliament and the public in the dark about a major national security challenge.Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said the government had failed to formulate a consistent policy on China despite repeated warnings from senior military officials, rising tensions along the border and a record trade deficit of $112 billion in 2025-26. His remarks came after Lt Gen Rakesh Sharma (retd), former commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, called for a clear government policy on communicating information about recurring incidents along the India-China border, warning that mistrust between the two countries was now complete.Referring to Sharma’s observations, Ramesh said, “He is absolutely right”, while questioning the government’s “silence” on conflicting assessments by senior military and security officials.Ramesh said, on July 4, 2025, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Rahul Singh had publicly spoken about the nature and extent of China’s support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.However, on August 25, 2026, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan (retd) offered a different assessment, suggesting that China’s involvement had not been as deeply embedded as Lieutenant General Singh had indicated.The Congress leader questioned the conflicting accounts, arguing that the government owed the country a clear explanation of China’s role in the military confrontation with Pakistan.Ramesh also referred to remarks made by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Singh on October 22 about Chinese incursions into Arunachal Pradesh.He said the Ministry of External Affairs and the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister had contradicted the ITBP chief’s assessment the following day.The Congress leader said the differing accounts raised serious questions about the government’s communication on national security, particularly as reports of incidents along the border continued to emerge.Turning to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of relations with China, Ramesh accused the government of pursuing a policy of concessions towards Beijing since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed.“But the Modi government has been in calibrated capitulation mode for long, ever since the PM’s infamous clean chit to China on June 19, 2020, and that too after 20 ‘jawans’ had been martyred in Ladakh,” Ramesh said.He also linked the government’s China policy to India’s growing economic dependence on Beijing, pointing out that the bilateral trade deficit had reached a record $112 billion in 2025-26.According to Ramesh, the widening deficit had severely affected India’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), making China’s economic influence as serious a challenge as the security situation along the border.The Congress leader further accused the government of denying Parliament an opportunity to hold a detailed discussion on China, despite the issue’s implications for national security, foreign policy and the economy.“Parliament is not even allowed to have an informed debate on China so that a cohesive, consistent and consensual strategy can be evolved to meet what is indeed a most formidable foreign and economic policy challenge,” Ramesh said.