The Congress on Friday slammed the Modi Government for extending the e-visa facility to Chinese tourists without resolving the issue of stapled visas handed by the neighbouring country to people from Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement in this regard on Friday during his ongoing China trip.
Congress spokesperson RPN Singh rued that New Delhi had agreed to the arrangement without Beijing first doing away with stapled visas. "Diplomacy is all about quid pro quo and reciprocity," Singh said while pointing out that the issue of e-visas was first raised by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he had visited China.
That time, the matter was tagged to the issue of China issuing stapled visas, he said, adding: "It is unfortunate that the matter (of stapled visas) has not been raised this time at all. The e-visa announcement came amid concerns expressed by the Home Ministry and security agencies over its possible misuse even as the External Affairs Ministry and Ministry of Tourism pressed for it.
Besides, the e-visa announcement was seen as a prelude to India relaxing investment norms for China to attract large- scale Chinese investment.