Sindoor, Pahalgam To Be Debated In LS

New Delhi: The government on Monday agreed to a 16-hour discussion on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack in the Lok Sabha, and it is likely to be taken up next week, even as the Opposition insisted that it should start this week itself and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must reply to the debate. Both Houses of Parliament saw a ruckus and brief adjournments, as the Opposition remained adamant on their demands.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with his Cabinet colleagues, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, J.P. Nadda, M.L. Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Nirmala Sitharaman, Kiren Rijiju and Arjun Meghwal.

The PM, sources said, discussed the issues to be taken up in the Parliament session, including the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor. Mr Modi, it is learnt, was also briefed about the progress in the impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma.

At the meeting of the business advisory committee, attended by members of different parties and chaired by Speaker Om Birla, sources said the government representatives said that Mr Modi was to leave on a foreign visit this week, and a debate when he is present in the House could be possible only next week. The Opposition parties also demanded that the home minister and the defence minister should also be present. Some Opposition members also called for a debate on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and the situation in Manipur.

The proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned multiple times before it adjourned for the day after noisy protests by the Opposition. Attacking the government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also alleged he was not allowed to speak even though he was the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Before the House got adjourned for the day, BJP MP Dilip Saikia, who was in the Chair, urged members to allow a bill on the readjustment of Goa Assembly seats to be taken up.

However, the Opposition continued raising slogans over its demand for a discussion on Operation Sindoor, under which the Indian armed forces carried out attacks on terror camps in Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

Earlier, defence minister Rajnath Singh assured the Opposition that the government was ready to have a long discussion on all the issues that the Speaker agreed to. “The government is ready to discuss any topic the Opposition wants. Whatever time they need to discuss, the government is ready to answer all their questions,” Mr Singh said.

Even parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju appealed to the Opposition members to place their demand during the meeting of the business advisory committee at 2.30 pm on Monday.

“The government is ready to reply to all issues that the Speaker agrees to at the BAC meeting. But to raise slogans and not let the House function on the first day of the Monsoon Session is unacceptable,” Mr Rijiju said in the Lower House.

As Opposition members continued to protest in the Well, Mr Jagdambika Pal, who was in the Chair, asked them to return to their seats and assured them that Speaker Om Birla would allow them to raise all matters that they wanted to discuss.

With the Opposition leaders unrelenting, Mr Pal said: “I appeal to the Leader of the Opposition, I appeal to Rahul Gandhi to let the House take up Zero Hour.”

When the Lok Sabha met at 11 am, after obituary references, Opposition members led by the Congress were on their feet as they insisted on a discussion on Operation Sindoor. Speaker Om Birla said he was ready to allow members to raise all issues, including Operation Sindoor, after Question Hour -- the first hour of the day when members raise questions related to different ministries and departments.

In the Rajya Sabha, Opposition MPs had given adjournment notices for a discussion on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor. The House also saw a brief adjournment as the Leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, termed US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he mediated between India and Pakistan to bring about a ceasefire during Operation Sindoor in May as “humiliating” for the country, and asked the government for a clarification on the issue.

Responding to Mr Kharge, Leader of the House J.P. Nadda said that the government was willing to discuss these issues and the Chairman (Jagdeep Dhankhar) will decide the date and time.

Mr Dhankhar said the date and time will be decided after consulting the floor leaders of political parties.

Later, the Congress staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha after it demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Pahalgam terror attack.