Indian opposition parties staged a walkout from both the upper and lower houses of parliament on Wednesday after failed attempts to initiate a detailed discussion on the recent clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, along with Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha (lower house), led the opposition's walkout; current Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge led it in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house.
Chinese troops clashed with Indian soldiers in the Yangtse area of the Tawang sector in India's Arunachal Pradesh state on December 9. According to the Indian military, there were “no fatalities or serious injuries" on the Indian side.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Trinamool Congress, and the Telugu Desam Party were among the 17 opposition parties that also walked out.
Earlier in the day, Kharge, who is also the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, held a meeting with various members of fellow opposition parties to discuss the Tawang face off, among other issues.
Meanwhile, the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also held a parliamentary meeting in the Parliament Library Building amid protests over the recent clash between Indian and Chinese troops. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, and the BJP's national President J.P. Nadda were reportedly present at the meeting.