Congress urges Centre to resolve India-China border stand-off diplomatically

The meeting convened by the Centre, where most of the leaders from the Opposition took part, discussed on the security situation of India with regards to the recent stand-off between New Delhi and Beijing at the Sikkim's Doklam border and the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress Party said on Friday.

Party leader Anand Sharma said the party considers India's security and integrity as paramount and that's why they have urged the Centre to resolve the border stand-off through diplomatic channels.

"The Centre convened all party meeting where we made our stand clear on behalf of Indian National Congress. For Congress, security and national interest are paramount. We made it clear to the government that only through diplomacy the tensions can be reduced, only then solution can be arrived," Sharma said after the meeting

Another Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, "The discussions were also on the terrorist attack that took place on Amarnath pilgrims. We urged the Centre to open its door for talks and resolve through guns and battles."

Meanwhile, Derek O'brien, who represented the Trinamool Congress (TMC), said, "We asked serious questions. We asked why the government was unprepared and if this (terrorist attack) was their failure. But we didn't get answers we were looking for."

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the government made assurances that the India-China border stand-off would be resolved diplomatically.

The meeting convened by the Centre was jointly headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.