This area has been under the purview of PLA since 1959

Congress said Modi's clean chit came despite Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal (East) Tapir Gao raising the issue at several fora, including in Parliament

The Congress on Saturday sought to take the BJP-led Centre to task following a Pentagon report mentioning that China has built a village within Arunachal Pradesh, demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "misleading" the world about no incursions from the neighbouring country to keep his "image" intact.

It said Modi should now give a deadline to the country on when the government would restore the status quo ante of April 2020 on the borders with China.

Referring to the 'Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China' by the Pentagon, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the Prime Minister must "withdraw the clean chit" he issued to China when he said on June 19 last year that nobody has entered the country or stayed here in reference to the neighbouring country.

He said the Pentagon report submitted before the US Congress has now confirmed that China has intruded 4.5 km in Arunachal Pradesh and constructed a village.

The Pentagon report said, "sometime in 2020, the PRC (People's Republic of China) built a large 100-home civilian village inside disputed territory between the PRC’s Tibet Autonomous Region and India’s Arunachal Pradesh state in the eastern sector of the LAC. These and other infrastructure development efforts along India-China have been a source of consternation in the Indian government and media."

Khera said these villages are dual use villages as they can also act as cantonments for the Chinese Army. He also claimed that some of the structures in this village are multi-storeyed.

"This is a very very serious issue. The Prime Minister must withdraw the clean chit given to China and give a deadline to the nation when the status quo ante of April 2020 on the borders with China is restored. We need dates, deadlines. We need an apology for misleading the world that China has not entered into our territory," Khera told a press conference.

He said Modi's clean chit came despite Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal (East) Tapir Gao raising the issue at several fora, including in Parliament.

"The Prime Minister may be friends with China. But his friendship should not be more important than the sanctity of Indian borders...When the borders are not safe, what will you do? What face you will show the sons of farmers who are protecting the borders," he said, adding his previous clean chit had "emboldened" China.