Any ongoing unrest in northeast will affect other states in country: Manish Tewari

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) Congress leader Manish Tewari on Tuesday criticised the government over the situation in Manipur saying that the ongoing unrest in the northeastern state will affect other states in the country as well. 

The former union minister also raised concern over the security scenario in the India-China border region. 

Speaking in support of the no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha, the Congress MP raised concerns over the spillover of violence in Manipur to nearby states, including Mizoram. 

Tewari said: "Manipur violence will affect other states too and the rest of the country."

Tewari also raised concerns regarding the security scenario in the India-China border region and cited a report by the SSP presented at a DGP-level conference. 

"Currently, there are 65 patrolling points from Poratoram Pass to Chumar that are to be regularly patrolled by Indian Security Forces (ISF). 

"Of these 65 patrolling points, our presence has been lost at 26 patrolling points due to restrictive or no patrolling by ISF," he said. 

Tewari said that later, "China forced us to accept the fact that as these areas have not seen the presence of ISFs or civilians for a long time and the Chinese were present in these areas". 

"This results in a shift of the border under the control of ISF towards the Indian side, creating a buffer zone in such pockets that ultimately leads to a loss of control over the areas held by India. This is a tactic employed by the PLA to gradually grab land, known as 'salami slicing'," Tewari, who was also a former union minister, said. 

Taking a swipe at the government over the abrogation of the Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress leader said: "Even after four years after the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, no elections have been held so far."