Janata Dal-United (JDU) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar urged parties at an all-party meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the India-China situation, to shun their differences to support the Centre and cautioned that any disunity can be used as an opportunity by other nations.
"There is nationwide anger against China. There should be no differences among us. We are together. The parties should not show any disunity that can be explored by other nations. China's stand on India is known. India wanted to give respect to China. But what did China do in 1962?" Kumar said, according to sources.
According to sources, Kumar said that it is our duty to be one and support the Centre.
"Goods from China flooding Indian markets have major problems. They are plastic heavy. Chinese products are not eco-friendly and they harm the environment. Electronic waste associated with them is high. Chinese products don't even last long. It is our duty to be one and support the Centre," Kumar said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired an all-party virtual meeting to discuss the situation in India-China border areas.
The leaders who took part in the meeting include Congress President Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP chief JP Nadda.
The Prime Minister and leaders also paid tributes to soldiers who lost their lives in the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.
Twenty Indian soldiers lost their lives in the face-off which happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.
Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in the violent clash.
Leaders of about 20 parties took part in the meeting through video conferencing. The meeting was convened by the Prime Minister.
( With inputs from ANI )