Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to address Parliament on India-China border issue

New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address Parliament on the India-China border row in Lok Sabha today, shows the Parliament's list of business for the day. The government has been under predictable assault from the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, over the stand-off with China at the Line of Actual Control.

The issue was raised on September 13 at the Parliament's Business Advisory Committee meeting, a day ahead of the opening session of Parliament. The Monsoon session of Parliament began on Monday.

Asked whether an announcement will be made on the India-China stalemate, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that given the "sensitivities of the situation, and the strategic points", the government will make a decision on this.

The government came under pressure to make an announcement following the renewed attempts by soldiers of the People's Liberation Army at Pangong Tso Lake and a few different zones in Ladakh since April. The issue rapidly escalated in June, with 20 Indian soldiers being killed in the line of obligation on June 15 - a first in over forty years.

Twice over the last three weeks, Chinese soldiers had shown provocative activity in the south bank of Pangong Tso, a chilly lake.

India has been able to "prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo" at the LAC, the Foreign Ministry had stated.

The latest was a daytime operation during which Indian troops were encircled by Chinese troopers, who were trying to recover the heights that are being dominated by the Indian military.

Days after the June 15 "violent face-off" at Galwan Valley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Ladakh to boost the morale of the soldiers.

At an all-party meeting, Sonia Gandhi, the Congress chief had hit out hard on Narendra Modi-led government alleging utter "mismanagement" and "wrong policies" being used in handling China and keeping the Opposition "in the dark even at this late stage".

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