Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other members of his party on Wednesday walked out of a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, alleging that they were not allowed to speak or discuss matters of national security, PTI reported, citing unidentified officials.
The panel’s chairperson and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jual Oram stopped Gandhi from speaking, when the latter sought to raise the matter of Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
The confrontation took place during a discussion on the uniforms of the Army, Navy and Air Force in the presence of the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat. Gandhi intervened saying that instead of discussing uniforms, the political leadership should deliberate upon matters of national security and figure out ways to strengthen the forces who are fighting the Chinese troops in Ladakh.
He repeatedly asked General Rawat what was the need to take advice from politicians about uniforms of military ranks, according to NDTV. He wondered if the armed forces were not competent to make their own decisions.
Gandhi said the panel was wasting time by talking about uniforms when it should be discussing ways to better equip the Indian soldiers. When he and other Congress leaders pressed for an explanation, Oram reportedly interrupted and stopped him from speaking, following which, he and other party members walked out.
Gandhi has repeatedly criticised the Centre for not being clear about the situation at the border and for giving conflicting statements about it. He had also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being scared of China and lying about the extent of Chinese intrusion in Indian territory.
The tensions along the Line of Actual Control started with initial scuffles that led to a pitched battle – without firearms – in June that saw 20 Indian soldiers killed. Beijing, however, refused to release casualty numbers on its side. Both India and China have accused each other of crossing into rival territory and of firing shots for the first time in 45 years.
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