Congress leader from Ladakh Zakir Hussain was arrested on Friday after he made some controversial remarks about the Indian Army and the recent clash between Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan Valley.
In an audio tape released by TV channels, Hussain can be heard berating the Indian Army soldiers and lauding the Chinese Army over the incident.
He claimed that at least 222 Indian Army soldiers were killed in the clash with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley on June 15. According to a Times Now report, Hussain, during his private conversation with friends, also said that the Chinese side did not suffer any casualty.
The Congress councillor from Kargil went on to say that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept on shouting about the surgical strike, China “captured” the Indian territory.
According to reports, he was arrested on Friday afternoon.
The Congress distanced itself from his remarks and called it a "private talk".
The Indian Army on Tuesday said 20 soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in a clash with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley on Monday night, in the biggest military confrontation between the two armies in over five decades. According to unconfirmed reports, the Chinese side, too, suffered over 40 casualties.
The military-level talks between the two sides to diffuse the tension will continue next week as the first two rounds of talks on Wednesday and Thursday remained inconclusive.
The Congress party, led by former party president Rahul Gandhi, has launched a frontal attack on the Modi government over its handling of the border tension with China.
