Congress seeks debate over Indo-China border issue, recent Tawang clashes

PM tight-lipped on China, Govt muzzling opposition voice, alleges Digvijay Singh

Jammu, Dec 14  : Seeking clarifications from government over Indo-China armies clashes at Yangtze, Tawang, in Arunachal Pradesh, Member Parliament in Rajya Sabha and Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh Wednesday said that government should hold a debate in both the houses of Parliament during ongoing session and clear the doubts of opposition and nation over India-China relations.

“There is a past practice in the parliament that whenever some minister lay down statement in the house, the opposition has the right to seeks clarifications, which was denied yesterday (during defence minister statement over Tawang clashes),” the veteran Congress leaders said as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) and alleged that government tried to muzzle the voice of opposition by denying genuine parliamentary rights.

Seeking debate in the house, Singh said, “We wanted to know from the Prime Minister and Defense Minister about the situation on the border.  What happened and what did not happen, but we were not given any explanation from the government”.

Adding, quickly he said, “We have high regards and respect for our armed forces. They deserve the highest respect for performing duties in very difficult situations and protecting their fellow countrymen but the government should not run from a situation like this and reply in the parliament by allowing debate.”

Adding further, the former MP chief Minister said, “Prime Minister appears aggressive if the same thing (border skirmishes) happens with Pakistan but he (PM) takes a soft stand on China, which is very surprising”.

“We (opposition) seek some clarifications but it’s unfortunate that the Prime Minister is shying away from the situation and tight-lipped when it comes to China,” he added.

Furthermore, Singh said, “Earlier (during Galwan-Ladakh 2020 clashes), our PM outrightly denied the presence of Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh sector. However, Defence Minister (Rajnath Singh) and then CDS (Chief of Defence Staff) General (B S) Rawat had accepted it.

Earlier, Digvijay Singh along with his wife Amrita Rai arrived in Jammu on a two-day visit to take stock of the preparations related to the party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

According to the Congress spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, the yatra, which started from Kanyakumari under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, will reach Jammu and Kashmir in the third week of January.

Senior party leaders, including former minister Yogesh Sawhney received Singh, who was overseeing the preparations for the yatra, at Jammu airport. Rahul Gandhi will spend eight days in Jammu and Kashmir in the last leg of the yatra which started from Kanyakumari on September 7—(KNO)