20 Indian army soldiers killed in brutal attack by Chinese troops (depiction)
New Delhi:
A meeting of the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs should be convened as soon as possible and informed by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of Defense and other senior officials of the violent confrontation with China in which 20 Indian soldiers are dead, several members of the opposition panel said on Sunday.
However, members of the ruling party group called the request a political act and said that it would not be possible to convene the meeting when the country is grappling with the coronavirus crisis.
The committee is chaired by the former Minister of the Union and member of the BJP PP Chaudhary.
On June 15, 20 Indian army soldiers were killed in a brutal attack by Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. It was the worst cross-border violence between the two armies in 45 years and strained ties between India and China.
Following this incident, members of various opposition parties requested that a meeting of the Standing Committee on External Affairs be convened to discuss the matter.
RSP deputy NK Premchandran, panel member, said a meeting should be convened on the deadlock between India and China.
“A meeting must be convened as soon as possible because it is a matter of national importance. The secretary for foreign affairs and the secretary for defense should be invited to brief the panel on the confrontation of violence,” he said. he told the PTI.
Former Interior Minister and senior congressional official P Chidambaram said that all senior officials who can shed light on the incident should be called to brief members.
“A meeting must be convened and the foreign secretary must report on the violent confrontation between Indian and Chinese forces in the Galwan Valley and the members should be allowed to call other senior government officials who can shed more light, “he added. said.
But BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said that political leaders of all parties should remain united with the government in times of crisis. She also said that there was politics behind this request at such a time.
“To fight the Chinese wall, political leaders should remain united with the government as a firewall and avoid propaganda and politics,” said Lekhi.
Wondering why members of the opposition parties did not demand a standing committee meeting in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, she said “there is definitely politics behind this meeting (call)”.
Party colleague and committee member Poonam Mahajan said the meeting would not be feasible as it could be risky for members of the Lok Sabha secretariat due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the President of Lok Sabha, Om Birla, and the President of Rajya Sabha, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, asked the Secretaries General to study the possibility of organizing a meeting by videoconference.
