India-China troops clash: Congress seeks statement from PM, discussion on issue in Parliament
_vb_56.jpeg)
New Delhi, (PTI): The clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh is set to rock Parliament on Tuesday with several Congress MPs demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the situation at the border.
The Congress MPs have given adjournment notices in both houses of Parliament to discuss the border situation with China.
While Manish Tewari has given a notice in the lower house, Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Syed Nasir Hussain have given similar adjournment notices in the upper house.
Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9 and the face-off resulted in "minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides", the Indian Army said.
The clash near Yangtse along the LAC in the sensitive sector took place last Friday amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.
In his notice, Surjewala said all business of the House be suspended and the "brazen Chinese transgressions and illegal occupations in Indian territory and the Chinese provocation at Tawang sector" be discussed urgently.
He urged Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to make a statement and hold a discussion over the issue in the Rajya Sabha.
Similar unconfirmed reports of Chinese transgressions are coming from Doklam area, he said.
"All these disconcerting reports of Chinese transgressions and illegal occupations require suspension of the business of the House of the day in order to apprise the House and the nation about growing Chinese threat to our national security and territorial integrity.
"Public interest demands that the prime minister and defence minister make a statement in the House and apprise the nation of the Chinese transgressions into Indian territory across the LAC, since April 2020 till date," Surjewala said in his notice.
Tewari also gave a notice in the Lok Sabha, saying clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang are "serious" and the House needs to discuss the matter.
"I urge the Government to inform the House of the situation in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh and the overall border situation with China because it concerns India's sovereignty and independence," Tewari said in his notice.
Several other Congress members in the Rajya Sabha, including Rajni Patil, Ranjeet Ranjan, Shaktisinh Gohil and Jebi Mather, also moved similar adjournment notices demanding a discussion on the issue.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Palakkad: Hotel owners hold protest march against gas price hike
Palakkad (Kerala) (PTI): Hotel and restaurant owners on Saturday held a protest march in Palakkad against the recent nearly Rs 1,000 hike in commercial gas cylinder prices.
The protesters marched through the town holding placards and images of gas cylinders. They also carried two cylinders on a stretcher with a wreath placed on top, according to visuals aired on television channels.
The hotel and restaurant owners contended that it would be difficult for them to sustain their businesses in view of the high cost of commercial gas cylinders.
They said that many of them had been forced to shut their establishments earlier due to the scarcity of commercial gas cylinders, and that most had only recently reopened.
“But the sudden increase in commercial gas cylinder prices has affected our operations,” the protesters said.
Similar concerns were raised by restaurant owners and workers from other parts of the state in response to queries from reporters.
The Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association had on Friday announced a statewide protest strike on May 6 against the Rs 993 hike in commercial LPG cylinder prices.
KHRA state president G Jayapal said that all hotels and restaurants across Kerala would remain shut on that day in protest against what he termed an “unfair” increase in LPG prices.
He added that over the past five months, the price of a single cylinder had increased by a total of Rs 1,498.
On May 6, establishments will remain closed, and protest marches and dharnas will be held in front of district headquarters and oil company offices, he said.
