Opposition leaders staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday after being disallowed from raising questions on External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s China statement.
Opposition members tried to speak after Dr Jaishankar’s statement but Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar called Union Minister Piyush Goyal to introduce The Boilers Bill, 2024.
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The Chair declined to allow Opposition members to speak on the issue, prompting them to stage a brief walkout in protest against the Chairman’s decision.
In his statement, Dr Jaishankar said India remains committed to engaging with China to arrive at a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable framework for boundary settlement.
He said, “Following the October 21 understanding, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 23. They welcomed the understanding and directed the Foreign Ministers to meet to stabilise and rebuild the relationship. The Special Representatives will also oversee the management of peace and tranquillity, besides exploring a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question.”
Jaishankar said that in pursuance of the directive, he recently held discussions with Chinese FM Wang Yi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18, 2024.
He further said, “Our ties have been abnormal since 2020 when peace and tranquillity were disturbed due to Chinese actions.”
Jaishankar said, “The conclusion of the disengagement phase now allows us to consider other aspects of our bilateral engagement in a calibrated manner, keeping our national security interests first and foremost. In my recent meeting with FM Wang Yi, we reached an understanding that the Special Representatives and the Foreign Secretary-level mechanisms will be convening soon.”
The Minister spoke on the issue in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
After a consensus between the Centre and Opposition members, Parliament transacted some business on Tuesday, with the Rajya Sabha passing the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, and the Lower House passing the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024.
