The monsoon session of Parliament began on a stormy note on Monday with the Opposition stalling proceedings in both Houses to demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence to clear the air on the security lapses behind the Pahalgam terror attack and US President Donald Trump’s claims of having brokered peace between India and Pakistan.
The Lok Sabha could hardly function as the Opposition trooped into the Well, pressing for a discussion on the Pahalgam carnage and Operation Sindoor while alleging that leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s voice was being suppressed.
Defence minister and deputy leader Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha that the “government is ready to discuss any topic and for whatever time”, but the Opposition continued with its protests, demanding permission for Rahul to speak in the House and raise issues.
“The question is, the defence minister is allowed to speak in the House but Opposition members, including me, who is the LoP, are not allowed to speak.... This is a new approach,” Rahul told reporters outside the House.
The Treasury benches, however, accused the Opposition of not following rules to raise issues in the House. “The government is open to discussing any issue according to the rules of procedure in the House, but the Opposition is determined to stall the proceedings on the first day of the session,” parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said.
At a meeting of the business advisory committee, the government told the Opposition that it was ready to debate Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha next week as Modi would be abroad this week.
The Rajya Sabha witnessed adjournments, but leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge was allowed to speak. He sparred with House leader J.P. Nadda during Zero Hour.
Kharge said the Opposition had given “unconditional support” to the government for its actions against the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack and now wanted the Prime Minister to come to the House to answer questions.
“None of the terrorists have been nabbed yet, while the government is claiming to have destroyed the terrorists. Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha has admitted intelligence failure in the terror attack,” Kharge told the Rajya Sabha.
“We should know what happened to the terrorists…. Donald Trump has repeated 24 times that he played a key role in the ceasefire. This is an insult to the nation that an outsider is saying this.”
Nadda shot back: “No message should go that we are against discussion. Since independence, no mission like Operation Sindoor has taken place.”
Modi, in his customary address ahead of the session, hailed Operation Sindoor and urged unity on the issue in Parliament, stressing “national interest”.
“The country has seen unity after Operation Sindoor, but the leaders in Parliament should also unite. Our political views might be different, but our hearts should be one on issues of national interest,”he said.
Modi walked into the Lok Sabha amid slogans by BJP members hailing him for Operation Sindoor. The refrain among the ruling MPs was that Operation Sindoor had enhanced the country’s dignity.
The Prime Minister sat in the Lok Sabha for a couple of minutes before leaving, prompting Opposition members to chant slogans demanding answers from him.
Speaker Om Birla urged the Opposition to not stall Question Hour, stressing that the government was ready to discuss all issues. Congress MPs were seen urging the Speaker to allow Rahul to speak, but the request was denied.