Parliamentarians, CRPF personnel and others during a tribute ceremony to pay homage to martyrs who lost their lives in the 2001 Parliament attack, at Parliament House complex in New Delhi, December 13, 2022. (PTI)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday told Parliament that Chinese forces had tried to “transgress” the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and “unilaterally change the status quo” in the Yangtse area of Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh last week but the Indian troops prevented the bid, resulting in a “physical scuffle leading to injuries to a few personnel on both sides”.
“I wish to share with this House that there are no fatalities or serious casualties on our side. Due to timely intervention of Indian commanders, PLA soldiers went back to their locations,” Singh said in a statement in both the Houses of Parliament.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a tribute ceremony to pay homage to martyrs who lost their lives in the 2001 Parliament attack, at Parliament House complex, December 13, 2022. (PTI)
The face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector triggered a political firestorm in Parliament Tuesday with the Opposition demanding a discussion and accusing the Government of remaining a “mute spectator” to “brazen Chinese aggressions” which, it said, affect India’s national security and territorial integrity.
Opposition parties, led by the Congress, also staged walkouts in both Houses after their push for a detailed discussion on the issue, following Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement on the incident along the Line of Actual Control, was unsuccessful. They had earlier forced the adjournment of both Houses for a while before Singh made the statement.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury speaks in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. (PTI)
Opposition members in Lok Sabha on Tuesday raised issues of unemployment, inflation and farm distress during the debate on Supplementary Demands for Grants for Budget 2022-23, and asked who is getting the benefit of the much-touted economic growth.
Several MPs also said that pre-matric scholarship and Maulana Azad Fellowship for minority students should be restored, and asked how will the country progress if minority communities are left behind.
The government has sought Parliament’s nod for additional spending of Rs 4.36 lakh crore to meet the needs for subsidy on fertiliser, food and LPG.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra at Parliament House complex during ongoing Winter Session. (PTI)
Accusing the BJP government of being incompetent, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra Tuesday raised a series of questions, on industrial output, manufacturing sector and the number of people leaving India, to ask “Who’s the Pappu now?”.
The term had been coined by the ruling party “to denigrate, signify extreme incompetence”, Moitra added.
The TMC leader, who was taking part in a debate over the supplementary demand of grants in the Lok Sabha, said these would amount to an additional expenditure of about Rs 4.36 lakh crore, which will raise the fiscal deficit above the provision in the Budget, and went against “the government’s own stated goal of containing the fiscal deficit”.
A parliamentary committee has expressed its disappointment over the very minuscule number of women being recruited in Central Armed Police Forces like the CRPF and BSF and sought action to create a conducive environment at border outposts so that women are motivated to join security forces. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, headed by BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Brijlal, noted that despite efforts of the home ministry to encourage the recruitment of women in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles, the strength of women personnel is “abysmally low”.
The clash in Tawang sector snowballed into a major issue on Tuesday with the Congress accusing the government of hiding the truth, and staging a walkout in both houses of Parliament even as Home Minister Amit Shah claimed the reason behind disruptions was a question on cancellation of FCRA registration of Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Several opposition members of the CPI, CPI-M, Shiv Sena, RJD, SP and JMM joined the Congress members in staging walkout from both Houses. The opposition party also alleged that national security and territorial integrity are being impinged upon by brazen Chinese transgressions as the government remains a “mute spectator”.
On a day when the Opposition slammed the government for the clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tawang region, Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday alleged that the Congress MPs disrupted the Question Hour to avoid questions on the money received by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) from China in violation of the FCRA rules. Shah also asserted that “no one can capture one inch of land as long as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in power”.
