All-party meetings just formality, no outcome from talks: Jairam Ramesh

Jairam Ramesh said Congress has consistently been asking for a discussion on the strategic challenges, economic challenges, diplomatic challenges being posed by China

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has taken a dig at government "for not acting" on the demands of opposition parties at the customary all-party meetings, saying that union ministers note suggestions but not implemented as Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not come for the meeting.

He demanded a discussion on the full gamut of India-China relations for its actions concerning India and support to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

The monsoon session of Parliament will begin on July 21 and government convenes an all-party meeting ahead of it.

"We go to the all-party meeting, it lasts for one and a half hours. JP Nadda comes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh comes, Kiren Rijiju comes. Everybody speaks their mind, they note it down but nothing happens because the people who are supposed to get it done, the Home Minister and the Prime Minister, they don't come... It's just a formality, we will go to the meeting. From our side, we will demand a discussion on these issues, there is no dearth of time... When there are so many serious challenges, strategic challenges - China, Pakistan, America, Bangladesh, economic issues, unemployment, we put forth our views on these issues but nothing happens," Jairam Ramesh told ANI.

He said Congress has consistently been asking for a discussion on the strategic challenges, economic challenges, diplomatic challenges being posed by China.

"Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development & Sustenance), Lt Gen Rahul R Singh has publicly expressed what had been generally believed since the end of Operation Sindoor, the abrupt end of Operation Sindoor which President Trump intervened and operation was aborted on the 10th May. What Lt Gen Singh has said today gives public expression to what had been feared, which is that we were actually fighting China, we were not fighting Pakistan," he said.

"China was micromanaging the Pakistan Air Force to an extraordinary degree. This is as important as the revelation that was made by the Chief of Defence Staff in Singapore... This is why the Congress Party has consistently been asking for a discussion on the strategic challenges, economic challenges, diplomatic challenges being posed by China. China has not only taken over the Pakistan Air Forces but now they are having a trilateral meeting of Pakistan and Bangladesh. We are running a record trade deficit," he added.

He hoped that opposition parties would get a chance to raise their issues.

"Now that Parliament is meeting on July 21 and the session has been extended by four days, we hope that we will have an opportunity to discuss the political, strategic, economic, and geopolitical challenges that we face from China. Congress party will continue to make this demand that we have a full discussion on China, and we build a consensus on what is a collective resolve to deal with these challenges," he said.

"Pakistan is a challenge that is being propped up by the Chinese. America is also a challenge, but that's in a separate category in itself, so we will continue to make this demand, and we will insist that there be a discussion in Parliament on the revelations of CDS General Chauhan, the defence attache in Indonesia and today what Lt Gen Rahul Singh has said in New Delhi," he added.