Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj to brief Opposition

New Delhi: In an attempt to project political unity in Parliament on key security and strategic issues, home minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will hold detailed deliberations with the Opposition parties on Friday on the prevailing situation in Kashmir and the ongoing standoff with China in Sikkim.

The government is keen to ensure that there is unanimity on these sensitive issues, cutting across party lines, when Parliament meets for its Monsoon Session from Monday. Sources said the meeting was part of the government’s initiative to get the Opposition on board and evolve a broad consensus on these critical issues.

Both Mr Singh and Ms Swaraj will brief key Opposition leaders and give a detailed presentation on the security scenario in the Valley in the aftermath of the Amarnath Yatra killings and the tension with China in Sikkim.

India has already expressed concern over China trying to construct a road in Sikkim’s Doklam area, which would impact the situation in the India-Bhutan region and the Tibet tri-junction. Indian security forces were engaged with their Chinese counterparts on the issue for almost three weeks, after which China even stopped Indian pilgrims from taking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route through the Nathu La pass.

Apart from this, the two senior Cabinet ministers will also brief the Opposition leaders in detail on the present situation in the Kashmir Valley, that has witnessed unprecedented violence after last year’s killing of top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, eventually leading to the killing of seven Amarnath pilgrims on Monday night.

Districts like Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian have been the worst affected in the violence ,in which 76 people, including security personnel, have been killed.

The government also felt the need for such as meeting as the Opposition has been very critical of the government’s handling of the China and Kashmir situations. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who also met the Chinese ambassador on the issue, has already questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the border crisis.

Mr Gandhi also raised doubts on the Centre’s handling of the Kashmir situation, saying it had led to an increase in violence in the Valley. The Congress leader accused the Centre of pursuing what he described as “short term political gains” from the PDP-BJP alliance in the state.