By IANS,
Shimla : The main opposition Congress Friday assailed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Himachal Pradesh over glaring omissions in India’s map published in its official diary, and staged a walkout from the state assembly.
Raising the issue after the question hour, Leader of Opposition Vidya Stokes said the government had committed a shameful act by publishing in the diary a wrong map of the country, in which international boundaries were tampered with.
“This (the wrong map) has given a tool in the hands of anti-India countries to create problems for India,” she said. “The state government should apologise to the nation for this mistake.”
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal admitted that “publishing the wrong map is a mistake”.
“We regret the mistake committed in the publication of the map. We have ordered an inquiry in this regard and prima facie three officials have been charge-sheeted,” Dhumal said.
The Congress legislators, who were not satisfied with the reply of the chief minister, staged a walkout from the house.
The map, published on the turn page of the diary’s cover, shows the network of country’s national highways in a two-colour contrast. Both Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin are printed in different shades and have not been shown as part of India.
A dotted line does indicate the outline of the country’s boundary, but a computer generated shade alters the original image showing PoK and Aksai Chin as not part of India.