Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said the Opposition was forced to ask questions on sensitive international disputes on social media because the government refused to brief the political parties on issues of national interest and had failed to take them into confidence. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had chided former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday for raising questions on international affairs via social media. In response to Mr. Prasad’s prescription, Mr. Ramesh said, “Questions are being asked on social media because the government has not briefed former PMs, former Defence Ministers, leaders of political parties. The reality is that the Chinese are sitting on 50-60 sq kms of strategic Indian territory in Ladakh and at least senior political leaders should be taken into confidence,” he told The Hindu. Virtual ParliamentHe said it was a shame that a country that called itself an IT superpower had failed to convene a session of virtual Parliament when Parliaments of over 30 countries had met online.

Source: The Hindu June 11, 2020 16:59 UTC