Was the border situation discussed? asks P Chidambaram in Rajya Sabha

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday used the debate on supplementary grants in Rajya Sabha to ask the government whether the border situation figured during the brief exchange Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali, triggering a war of words between the government and Opposition.

As soon as Chidambaram referred to the video of Modi's brief chat with the Chinese president in Bali during the G20 summit last month, treasury members objected to it saying he was deviating from the debate subject while Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar asked the Congress leader to place the video on the table of the House.

"I just want to know, without going into details, was the border situation discussed? Don't tell me what you discussed," Chidambaram said.

BJP MP G V L Narasimha Rao objected to Chidambaram's remarks saying that the Rules stipulates that discussion on a bill should be confined to the subject and a member should not refer to the details that is not part of the Bill. Lok Sabha had passed the Supplementary Demands for Grants last week authorising the government to spend an additional Rs 3.25 lakh crore in the current financial year.

However, Chidambaram countered Rao saying the Supplementary Demands for Grants included Rs 500 crore for defence capital expenditure for strategic and border roads in the northeast and this allowed him to speak on the demand he raised.

On December 9, there were clashes between Indian and Chinese militaries in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang. Congress and other Opposition parties have been demanding a comprehensive discussion in Parliament but it has not been allowed in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

"These are strategic and border roads in the northeast... We know who is the threat in the country's northeastern, northern and eastern parts. Has China conceded anything on Hot Springs? Have the Chinese agreed to discuss the friction points in the Doklam junction and the Depsang plains?" he said.

Seeking clarifications on buffer zones along the India-China border, he said, "you are creating more buffer zones. What does a buffer zone mean? According to our information, a buffer zone means there will be no patrol, China will not patrol and India will not patrol. Does it mean that we are no longer patrolling in areas where we were patrolling?".