Centre Avoiding India-China Issue For 22 Months: Congress Demands Discussion In Parliament

The Congress Party demanded a discussion or briefing on the issue of India-China border tension amid the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh addresses a press conference at AICC HQ, in New Delhi, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.

Source : PTI

New Delhi: The Congress Party on Friday targetted the Union government over the issue of India-China border tension demanding a discussion or briefing amid the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament.

"The LAC issue is a priority. We gave notice in Rajya Sabha, but it wasn't accepted by Chairman. We will continue to bring that up. Centre is avoiding the India-China issue for 22 months. We also advised that the Defence minister must brief Opposition leaders if they don't want a debate," Jairam Ramesh said at a press conference at AICC HQ, in New Delhi, as quoted by news agency ANI.

Earlier in the day, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also stressed that the government should discuss the border issues between India and China instead of talking about G20. "In Ladakh, the Chinese Army has infiltrated and made over 200 shelters with accommodation facilities. Now, our Army isn't allowed to patrol in farther areas. If this goes like this then the situation might get tense at Siachen Glacier," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told ANI.

"It's imperative that government discuss the situation of India-China border issues (in Parliament) instead of reciting G20," he added.

We Won't Tolerate Attempts To Unilaterally Change LAC: External Affairs Minister In Rajya Sabha

While delivering his remarks in the Parliament on the 'Latest Developments in India's Foreign Policy', External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that India won't tolerate China's attempts to unilaterally change the Line of Actual Control (LAC). 

He cautioned that if China continues to build forces in the border area, it will have a serious impact and concerns on the relationship between both countries.

"Diplomatically, we're clear with Chinese we won't tolerate attempts to unilaterally change LAC. If they continue to do that and build up forces which constitute serious concerns in border areas then our relationship isn't normal and that abnormality is evident in the last few years," the External Affairs Minister said during his address to Rajya Sabha, as quoted by ANI.

Earlier in October, Jaishankar met the outgoing Chinese envoy to India Sun Weidong and told him that peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential to maintaining bilateral ties. "Emphasized that the development of India-China relations is guided by the 3 Mutuals. Peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential," Jaishankar tweeted after meeting ambassador Sun. 

"The normalization of India-China relations is in the interest of both countries, of Asia and the world at large," he said in another tweet. 

India and China have had several rounds of diplomatic and military level meetings since 2020 on resolving the contentions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the India-China border areas. 

The winter session of the Parliament will have a total of 17 working days including 16 new bills on the Union government's agenda.