Mamata Banerjee to attend PM Modi convened meet on India-China border dispute

Guwahati: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has confirmed that she will take part in the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the India-China conflict at the Ladakh border.

Addressing the press on Thursday, the TMC leader had said that she "completely supports" the decision to call for an all-party meeting and called it a "correct decision". At a Wednesday press conference, Banerjee had said that her party does not speak about foreign affairs matters because it is always with the country. "Let the Centre decide how they want to deal with the situation in LAC", Banerjee had quipped.

PM Modi had called for the meeting after severe criticism from the opposition over the PM's alleged silence over the issue. Amid the heavy criticism spearheaded by Congress' former President Rahul Gandhi, the PM wrote on his twitter handle, "In order to discuss the situation in the India-China border areas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an all-party meeting at 5 PM on 19th June. Presidents of various political parties would take part in this virtual meeting."

The meeting will involve chiefs of all major political parties, and will be held virtually, keeping in mind the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it has come to light that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Lalu Yadav's RJD have not been invited.

At the same time, the Ram Mandir trust tasked with the construction of the temple in Ayodhya, has decided to put its plans on hold. In an official communique, the trust said that the situation at the India-China border is "serious" and defending the country is "most important".

Amid the ongoing row, the Chinese army on Thursday evening returned from its custody 10 Indian soldiers involved in Monday's violent face-off in the Galwan River Valley, even as the Army yesterday clarified that no soldier was missing in action.

It needs mention here that 20 Indian soldiers were killed by troops of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) along the undefined Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh. The Chinese Army is estimated to have suffered 35 casualties, including those seriously injured and killed, official sources quoting US Intelligence sources said.

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