Parliament Winter Session: Sonia Gandhi And Other Oppn Leaders Protest Inside Parliament, Demand Discussion On Tawang Clash
Sonia Gandhi and other Opposition leaders protest in front of the Gandhi statue inside the Parliament premises.
New Delhi: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and other Opposition leaders protest in front of the Gandhi statue inside the Parliament premises on Wednesday, as reported by the news agency ANI. The leaders of the opposition are demanding a discussion on the India and China faceoff at Tawang.
Delhi | Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and other Opposition leaders protest in front of the Gandhi statue inside the Parliament premises, demanding a discussion on the India-China faceoff at Tawang pic.twitter.com/yHzTizsEJS
— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2022
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has invited like-minded opposition leaders to join the protest in front of the Gandhi statue at 10:15 am, PTI reported citing sources. Around 12 parties are expected to participate in the protest, PTI reported.
Opposition parties have been demanding a discussion on the India-China border tensions and the latest Chinese transgressions since the Winter Session started on December 7.
Congress MP Rajni Patil on Tuesday gave the Suspension of Business Notice under Rule 267 in the Upper House of Parliament to discuss the "precarious" situation arising from the clash between the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).
"I hereby give notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States(Rajya Sabha) of my intention to move the following motion for the suspension of businesses listed for 20th December 2022," her letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairman read.
She said that the House should suspend Zero Hour and other businesses of the day to discuss the "precarious" situation arising from the clash between the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).
"That this House does suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to "Question Hour and other Businesses of the day to have a discussion on the precarious situation arising out of the recent clashes between the Indian and Chinese forces at the Tawang Border in Arunachal Pradesh on 9th December 2022 which has caused a grave threat to national security and the need for immediate measures to combat such aggressions and protect India's interests along the international border," she said.
Meanwhile, Congress lawmakers Pramod Tiwari and Manish Tewari have also sought discussions on the border row with China in parliament.
While Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari gave a Suspension of Business Notice under Rule 267 in the upper House, his party colleague in Lok Sabha, Manish Tewari, gave an Adjournment Motion notice in the lower House to discuss the border situation.
Pramod Tiwari attacked the government in his letter saying that no concrete response has been provided by the Narendra Modi-led union government despite several incidents of transgression from the Chinese side on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The Congress MP in Rajya Sabha also highlighted the June 2020 Galwan attack in Ladakh which left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
The clash near Yangtse along the LAC in the sensitive Tawang sector took place amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.
Despite the Defence Minister's statements in both Houses of Parliament assuring that "our forces are committed to protecting our territorial integrity and will continue to thwart any attempt made on it", the Congress MP said that the government had not discussed the recent clash.
(With agencies Inputs)