Rajnath Singh to address Parliament on India-China border crisis

Amid the Opposition’s pressure on the government to come clear on India’s border conflict with China at eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is slated to address the Lok Sabha on the issue on Tuesday (September 15), according to the House’s list of business.

Singh’s address will reportedly take place at 3 pm.

When the issue was raised at the Parliament’s Business Advisory Committee meeting on Sunday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prashlad Joshi had said that members will be apprised on the situation on Tuesday.

The Opposition has been demanding answers from the government, pertaining to the management of India’s ongoing border row with China at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, mostly in the wake of repeated transgressions by China’s People’s Liberation Army into Indian territory.

The stand-off between the militaries of the two countries at the LAC took an ugly turn on June 15 when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a scuffle with the Chinese in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. The incident goaded both sides to beef up military strength near the LAC.

While military and diplomatic-level talks were underway to defuse the situation and make forces to disengage from key friction points, the Chinese army has tried to transgress into Indian territory near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, at least thrice since the last week of August.

The Union Foreign Ministry has, however, clarified that India has been able to prevent these “attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo at the LAC” and occupy strategic heights near Pangong Tso.