Chennai, Jun 21 (IANS): Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Sunday said China back-stabbed India for its unprovoked attack on the Indian soldiers on June 15 at Ladakh resulting in the death of 20 bravehearts.

Stressing that the right to ask questions is the essence of democracy, Kamal Haasan, who founded the MNM party, said: "It is disrespecting to the army if anyone even hints that its morale will be shaken by a few pertinent questions asked by citizens to the government. Our army is a lot tougher than that. But their lives must not be taken for granted."

In a statement issued here, Haasan said: "The current Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has frequented China more than any other PM (Prime Minister) since independence. The Mahabalipuram summit was claimed to be a diplomatic success."

"Merely 8 months later, the Chinese stab us in the back by killing our unarmed soldiers. If that is the result of the government's diplomacy then either their strategy has failed miserably or they failed to read the intentions of the Chinese correctly," he said.

"In both cases, it is the government who needs to answer a few more questions. But we will leave those for some other day," he added.

Asking the central government as to what is being done to control China's belligerence at the border, Haasan said army is the last resort when diplomacy fails.

"What could have been achieved through peace talks and goodwill is being expected by our soldiers by sacrificing their lives!" he said.

The leader of MNM party demanded the central government divulge facts "about what exactly happened on that day at Galwan so as to stop rumours. We know that certain information will be classified but you can manage communication better than by just saying 'Don't doubt the army' and 'Don't be an anti-national'. We are beyond all that now."