Rajnath Singh meets AK Antony and Sharad Pawar, briefs them on Ladakh border row with China

The meeting is seen as an effort by Singh to reach out to the Opposition

Ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday briefed his two predecessors – A K Antony of the Congress and Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party – about the continued military stand-off between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Singh was accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Vipin Rawat, and Chief of Army Staff, Gen M M Naravane, during his meeting with Pawar and Antony, which appeared to be a part of the outreach by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to the leaders of the Opposition parties ahead of the forthcoming Session of Parliament.

The Defence Minister gave his predecessors an update about the talks between the diplomats and the senior military commanders of India and China to resolve the 15-month-long stand-off, which had started in April-May 2020.

Read more: Govt reaches out to Opposition ahead of Monsoon Session

Singh reached out to Pawar and Antony, anticipating that the opposition parties would raise the issue of the India-China stand-off during Parliament’s monsoon session, which would commence on July 19.

Rahul Gandhi of the Congress as well as other opposition leaders have been criticizing the Modi Government on the issue, particularly after New Delhi worked out a deal with Beijing for disengagement of front-line troops from both banks of the Pangong Tso lake in February this year.

Though the two sides had also agreed to build on the disengagement from Pangong Tso banks, they could not work out similar deals to pull out troops from other face-off points along the LAC, including Gogra Post, Hot Springs and Depsang Plains.

Singh on Friday also briefed Pawar and Antony about the situation along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan, particularly after the two sides agreed on February 25 last to strictly adhere to the 2003 ceasefire agreement and to stop firing at each other’s soldiers and border guards.