Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, and NCP's Sharad Pawar are among the Opposition leaders who would be briefed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on border stand-off with China and the situation in Kashmir, later in the day. Leaders from NDA are also expected to attend the meet.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley will also be present, said an official familiar with Friday's meeting.
The other Opposition leaders who have been invited for the meeting at Mr. Singh's 17, Akbar Road residence include Satish Chandra of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Tarik Anwar of NCP, Sharad Yadav and Kaushalendra Kumar of Janta Dal (U), Jai Prakash from Rashtriya Janta Dal, Derek O Brien from Trinamool Congress, and Karunakaran of CPI.
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Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Ranjit Singh Brahmapura of Shiromani Akali Dal, Anant Geete and Anand Rao of Shiv Sena, have also been invited for the meeting.
A senior Home Ministry official said the current stand-off with the People’s Liberation Army at Doklam near the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction would be the main focus of the meeting. The terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims and the initiatives taken to boost infrastructure in the border areas would also be on the table.
The Ministry of External Affairs had said on Thursday, however, refused to confirm whether China would be discussed in the meeting.
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