Congress urges govt. to engage with China to resolve border row

NEW DELHI: The Congress today urged the government to engage diplomatically with China to deescalate the situation in Dokalam and resolve the border crisis without compromising on India's national interests.

Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mallikarjun Kharge attended a meeting where top Union ministers and officials briefed the political parties on the standoff between India and China.

The Congress leaders also alleged security lapses in Jammu and Kashmir that led to the attack on Amarnath pilgrims and asked the government to engage with the local population and help improve the situation in the Kashmir Valley.

The Congress made it clear that when it comes to national security, all the parties are with the government as national security was the party's priority. "We stand united when it comes to India's national interests," Sharma said. "We had concerns.

The briefing comes ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, beginning on Monday, and is being viewed as an attempt to apparently build a consensus to deal with India's biggest neighbour as well as on the Kashmir issue.

AICC media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala earlier in the day took a jibe at the government, saying it was "satisfying" to see that the NDA government had "finally woken up" after three years to brief the opposition on the issues concerning the nation.

Criticising the Modi government, he said the previous Congress-led UPA regime had always kept the opposition in the loop on such critical issues. He alleged that the present situation in Kashmir was the result of the "immaturity and failure" of the PDP-BJP government in the state, and the Centre.

"Unfortunately, the prime minister and the BJP government think they have all the answers. They have not taken the opposition into confidence on the issue. We hope they take us into confidence," he added.