Criticizing prime minister Narendra Modi’s handling of the twin crisis coronavirus outbreak and the border stand-off with China, veteran West Bengal minister Sadhan Pande on Tuesday said the government had been caught on the wrong foot. Pande is presently the Minister of Consumer Affairs & Self Help Group & Self-Employment in the Government of West Bengal.

“PM has said something while the army said something else. So we believe the army. Army commandants are saying that Chinese have planted structures 18 km into the Indian border,” Pande alleged.

Equating PM Modi with Jawaharlal Nehru, the veteran Trianmool Congress lawmaker said, “As CM he went to China, he brought in Chinese president to Ahmedabadall the things that Nehru ji did, Modi Ji did the same both said ‘Hindi Chini bhai bhai’. China cannot be believed!”

Emphasising on the need to ‘fix’ the international border with China, Pande said, “There is a porous area and they should first go out of our land. We appreciate the Indian defense forces but the government has been caught on the wrong foot. When the PM said no intrusion into Indian land, army says they have created structures and to break the structure means a war. Things have been little late and government should have thought earlier.”

Pande said China has been escaping the border issue for long and political leaders in India have accepted their position lamely. “China has preferred that this border should not be formalized. They do not accept the MacMohan line, they are making their own claims. We now think the border with China must be finalized. Tough measures should be taken,” he said.