Day 2 of Parliament Monsoon Session: Rajnath Singh to speak on LAC standoff with China

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will make a statement on “developments on our borders in Ladakh” in the Lok Sabha on the second day of the ongoing Monsoon Session on September 15, according to the Parliament’s revised list of business.

The statement is scheduled for 3 pm amid the Opposition’s demand of a debate on the ongoing standoff between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

The Rajya Sabha session will be held between 9 am and 1 pm while the Lok Sabha will meet between 3 pm and 7 pm, as per the schedule of the second day of the session being conducted amid unprecedented safety protocols in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Sources said that Rajnath Singh had informed a few Opposition leaders about the statement on the face-off in Lok Sabha. Singh met his Chinese counterpart Gen Wei Fenghe during his visit to Russia earlier this month. Also, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had also met in Moscow around the same time.

India has been engaged in a continuous stand-off with China for many months now over transgression by Chinese Army in multiple areas in Ladakh.

The Opposition is seeking to corner the Centre during the ongoing session on host of issues such as standoff with China along the LAC, handling of COVID-19 pandemic, economic situation, dismal GDP figures and unemployment. The Congress and other Opposition parties raised these demands in the first business advisory committee (BAC) meeting for Lok Sabha chaired by speaker Om Birla on September 13. But, no time has been allocated yet for these discussions. A meeting of BAC for Lok Sabha is scheduled to be held again at 2 pm to discuss the schedule for the rest of the week.

The interim president of the Congress, country's main opposition party, Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi are, however, not attending the first few days of the session. Rahul is accompanying his mother Sonia for a health check-up abroad.

 The first day of the session on September 14 in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha saw members criticising the government for scrapping the Question Hour, the first hour of each day during which the members ask questions to the ministers. The Hour has been done away with this session citing ‘extraordinary circumstances’ arising due to COVID19 pandemic.

As per the schedule on the websites, Bills including, The Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2018, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020, The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020, The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020, The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will come up in Rajya Sabha today. Similarly, in Lok Sabha, bills such as The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020, The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 are listed for on September 15.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also expected to move a motion in Rajya Sabha for election of the committee on official language.
The 18-day Monsoon Session is being held under the shadow of pandemic-induced guidelines and strict social distancing norms.  In the first, the two Houses-- the Lok Sabha and the Rajay Sabha—are working in separate shifts without any weekend offs for the members who would not be allowed inside the premises without a negative COVID-19 report and a mask.

This session is the fourth session of the 17th Lok Sabha and 252nd session of Rajya Sabha and will conclude on October 1. The Monsoon Session that usually starts in mid-July had to be pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.