New Delhi, Sep 13: The government is likely to make a statement in parliament on the India-China stand-off, sources have said ahead of Monday’s monsoon session.
They said that the matter was raised at the parliament’s Business Advisory Committee meeting on Sunday, which was meant to discuss and slot agenda for business for the coming session.
Asked whether a statement will be made on the India-China stand-off, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “On Tuesday we will have a leaders’ meeting and keeping in mind the sensitivities of the situation, and the strategic points in mind, the government will take a decision and we will brief the leaders in the meeting”.
“We have said that the government is ready for discussion whatever the issue may be,” said Joshi.
The government has been under consistent attack from Congress leaders, spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi, over the stand-off with China at the Line of Actual Control or LAC, the de facto border between the two nations.
The transgressions by soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army at Pangong Lake and several other areas have been escalating. On June 15, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty in Ladakh – a first in more than four decades.
Twice over the last two weeks, Chinese troops had engaged in provocative action in the south bank of the glacial Pangong Lake.
But India was able to “prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo” at the LAC, the Foreign Ministry had said, underscoring that there were no physical clashes.
The last action on August 31 was a daytime operation during which Indian soldiers were surrounded by Chinese soldiers, who were trying to regain the heights that are being dominated by the Indian Army.
Given the circumstances, the government would have found it difficult to avoid a discussion on the issue, sources said.
