'Not good to rake up sensitive issue politically', Rijiju reacts to Opposition's demand on Tawang debate

Amid demands by the Opposition for a discussion in Parliament on the Sino-India border issue, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday cited past instances when the UPA government had denied deliberations in the House on such matters and said it is not good to rake up sensitive issues politically.

Responding to questions on the issue by reporters in Parliament complex, Rijiju said the border issue is very sensitive and there is a convention in Parliament of not discussing such matters in the House.

"You would recall that in 2005 when I was in the Opposition I had raised the issue of the China border. Then, late Pranab Mukherjee was the Leader of the House and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called me and said China border issue is very sensitive, therefore, it should not be discussed in Parliament and should be dealt with internally. We did not press," he said.

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In 2008, when the Chinese President visited India, BJP had once again demanded a discussion and gave a notice in Lok Sabha, he recalled.

"Then Mukherjee once again said the issue should not be raised in Parliament and the government would internally look into the issues (relating to China) and the solutions would be conveyed personally and not through Parliament," the Lok Sabha member from Arunachal Pradesh said.

Then Leader of the Opposition L K Advani had agreed not to press for a discussion as the matter was sensitive, he said.

"Today, the same Congress party is repeatedly demanding a discussion. One should think about what is important in national interest. It is not good to rake up a sensitive issue politically and mislead (people)," the Union minister said.