The Opposition on Tuesday disrupted proceedings in both Houses of Parliament and walked out in protest after the government refused to provide clarifications or allow discussions on Friday’s clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. Opposition members first disrupted Question Hour, demanding a discussion on the clash.

They walked out of either House on being denied the opportunity to seek clarifications after defence minister Rajnath Singh’s statement. Rajnath read out a statement separately in either House, saying Chinese forces had tried to “transgress” the Line of Actual Control to “unilaterally change the status quo” in the Yangtse area of Tawang in Arunachal but were thwarted by Indian troops. A few soldiers on both sides suffered injuries.

After the statement, Opposition members in both Houses wanted to ask questions but were disallowed. In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla said the rules didn’t allow the seeking of clarifications in the Lower House and that on issues of the “valour and courage of the armed forces the House should support in one voice”`.

The Opposition benches kept shouting that they be allowed to speak. Refused, they walked out. In the Rajya Sabha, where the rules allow the seeking of clarifications after ministers’ statements, Deputy Chair Harivansh turned down requests for questions citing the “sensitivity of the situation”.

He recalled that the seeking of clarifications had been disallowed in the Upper House in the past, too, on issues such as the Mumbai terror attack of 2008.

Earlier, when the Rajya Sabha assembled for the day and Rajnath was yet to make his statement, leader of the Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had castigated the government over the continuing Chinese intrusions.

“Our national security and territorial integrity is being impinged upon by brazen transgressions by China as the government remains a mute spectator,” Kharge said amid a din.

He lauded the valour and courage of the Indian forces, recalling the June 2020 clashes in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, but attacked the government for its failure to stop the transgressions.

“The illegal and unprovoked transgressions up to Y-Junction in the Depsang Plains continue to date. Similar is the situation in eastern Ladakh in the Gogra and the Hot Springs area,” he said.

“Not only this, the Chinese buildup next to the Pangong Tso lake area, including the building of the PLA’s divisional headquarters, army garrison, weapons shelters for artillery, anti-aircraft guns and armoured carriers, is being continuously ignored by our government.”

Kharge said that against this backdrop, the “unprovoked Chinese transgression in the Tawang sector raises more concern”. He was, however, not allowed to ask questions on these issues to Rajnath after the defence minister’s statement.

In the Lok Sabha, the Opposition got no opportunity to raise these issues at any time. The House was adjourned during Question Hour after the Opposition demanded a discussion. Rajnath later made his statement at noon.

Outside the House, home minister Amit Shah taunted the Congress, alleging it had disrupted Question Hour in the Lok Sabha because a question had been listed on the cancellation of the FCRA (foreign contribution regulations act) licence to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

He did not explain why the Congress would want to avoid a discussion on the subject when two of its own MPs — V.K. Sreekandan and Benny Behanan — had asked the question.