In an attempt to forge a broad political consensus on the situation at the India-China border, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday called for an all-party meeting on June 19, Friday. The move comes a day after the Army disclosed that 20 military personnel, including a colonel-rank officer, were killed in the worst flare-up on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in nearly five decades.
The decision to call an all-party meeting comes after protracted discussions at top-level last night and this morning. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had met the prime minister late Tuesday night where they were said to have been joined by Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman.