New Delhi, Jun 19 (IANS): The all-party meeting, which is being attended by 20 parties, started on Friday evening by observing two minutes silence for the 20 Indian soldiers killed by Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.
The meeting was called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss, with the opposition leaders, the India-China face-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh and the killing of the 20 Indian soldiers by the PLA troops on Monday night.
According to sources, the meeting started by paying tribute to the Indian soldiers who died in the unprecedented attack. The source said that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was also at the Prime Minister's residence, informed all the party leaders about the situation at the LAC and asked for their support.
The government has been facing the ire of the opposition parties over the killing of the 20 soldiers, including an officer.
The all party meeting is being attended by Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackarey, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar, LJP leader Chirag Paswan, DMK leader M.K. Stalin, Left leaders D. Raja and Sitaram Yechury and several others.
The AAP, the RJD and the AIMIM had not been invited.