Not good to rake up sensitive issue politically: Rijiju on Oppn demand for debate on Sino-India conflict

New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) Amid demands by the Opposition for a discussion in Parliament on the Sino-India border issue, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday cited past instances when the UPA government had denied deliberations in the House on such matters and said it is not good to rake up sensitive issues politically.

Responding to questions on the issue by reporters in Parliament complex, Rijiju said the border issue is very sensitive and there is a convention in Parliament of not discussing such matters in the House.

“You would recall that in 2005 when I was in the Opposition I had raised the issue of the China border. Then, late Pranab Mukherjee was the Leader of the House and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called me and said China border issue is very sensitive, therefore, it should not be discussed in Parliament and should be dealt with internally. We did not press,” he said.

In 2008, when the Chinese President visited India, BJP had once again demanded a discussion and gave a notice in Lok Sabha, he recalled.

“Then Mukherjee once again said the issue should not be raised in Parliament and the government would internally look into the issues (relating to China) and the solutions would be conveyed personally and not through Parliament,” the Lok Sabha member from Arunachal Pradesh said.

Then Leader of the Opposition L K Advani had agreed not to press for a discussion as the matter was sensitive, he said.

“Today, the same Congress party is repeatedly demanding a discussion. One should think about what is important in national interest. It is not good to rake up a sensitive issue politically and mislead (people),” the Union minister said.

In 2013, when A K Antony was the defence minister, he had told Parliament in detail that the policy of Congress was not to develop border areas, not to create infrastructure, he claimed.

“The policy was not correct due to which the movement of the forces is hindered and the people living there face difficulties.

“But today, Congress has forgotten its history,” he said.

The Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a fresh clash in Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector on December 9 in first such major flare-up after the deadly hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

Opposition parties, including Congress, have been demanding a debate in both Houses on the China border issue.

The Winter session of Parliament, which began on December 7, is likely to conclude on Friday.