New Delhi: An image of soldiers with Cabinet Minister Kiren Rijiju purportedly claiming that the Tawang region in Arunanchal Pradesh is “fully secured” due to the deployment of the Indian Army has been widely circulated on the internet. The post has been tweeted by the minister himself.
Yangtse area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army. pic.twitter.com/PVrW7usMyn
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) December 17, 2022
Rijiju, a Union Minister for Law and Justice, did not specify the time of the image but shared it with the caption: “Yangtse area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army”.
Since it was first posted at 12:14 pm Saturday, the tweet has received 1,964 likes, 354 retweets, and 84 quote tweets and has been shared by prominent news channels such as NDTV, ANI, and Hindustan Times, and journalists such as Aditya Raj Kaul, an executive editor of TV9 network.
#NewsAlert | "Yangtse area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army," tweets Union Minister Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju). pic.twitter.com/uWCeSs12e4
— NDTV (@ndtv) December 17, 2022
"Yangtse area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army," tweets Union minister Kiren Rijiju. pic.twitter.com/Zq3IzjJVCm
— ANI (@ANI) December 17, 2022
Union Minister @KirenRijiju at Yangtse area in #Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh where India thwarted China’s sinister plot of transgression. The area is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of brave jawans of Indian Army, he says. 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/U9rMsjnUv4
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) December 17, 2022
"Yangtse area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army," tweets Union minister #KirenRijiju. pic.twitter.com/O0EptLydvs
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) December 17, 2022
Union Minister @KirenRijiju visits Yangtse area in #Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh; says the area is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of brave jawans of Indian Army; He also slams Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for insulting Indian Army, says he is damaging nation's image. pic.twitter.com/IblkUVUxmt
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) December 17, 2022
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju meets Indian Army jawans in Tawang.
"Yangtse area in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of the brave jawans of Indian Army," he wrote on Twitter.
Srinjoy Chowdhury shares more details with @kritsween. pic.twitter.com/VGBppJaG22
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) December 17, 2022
Union Minister @KirenRijiju visits Yangtse area in #Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh; says the area is fully secured now due to adequate deployment of brave jawans of Indian Army; He also slams Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for insulting Indian Army, says he is damaging nation's image. pic.twitter.com/IblkUVUxmt
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) December 17, 2022
What happened at Tawang
According to reports from the defence establishment, Indian and Chinese troops clashed last Friday in the Yangtse region in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector, resulting in “minor” injuries on both sides.
On 12 December, the Army released a statement saying that on 9 December, a faceoff between the Indian army and Chinese troops at Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector. “led to minor casualties to few individuals from both sides”.
In spite of this, “both parties quickly disengaged from the area,” the Army said in the statement.
However, in his statement before both Houses of Parliament on 12 December, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that on 9 December, Chinese troops attempted to change the status quo at Yangtse. This Chinese incursion was met “with determination” by Indian troops and a skirmish ensued, he said, adding that the Indian Army successfully repelled the incursion and that there were “no fatalities or serious casualties on our side”.
Fact check
The image that Rijiju tweeted is from 29 October 2019 when he went to meet the Arunanchal Scouts in the Indian Army during Diwali that year.
The Arunachal Scouts is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It is guarding India's border with China in Arunachal Pradesh. It specializes in mountain warfare. Happy to be with them on the auspicious occasion of Diwali. pic.twitter.com/7KAHewrp4o
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) October 29, 2019
During that visit, Rijiju’s tweet read: “The Arunachal Scouts is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It is guarding India’s border with China in Arunachal Pradesh. It specializes in mountain warfare. Happy to be with them on the auspicious occasion of Diwali”.
He had also shared the same image on his official Facebook page.
(In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer)