The two-day discussion on Operation Sindoor ended in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi staying away from the Upper House despite being present in his office, prompting the Opposition to boycott the government’s reply to the debate by home minister Amit Shah.

Several Opposition leaders, including leader of the Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge, raised questions about the Prime Minister’s absence and shouted slogans such as “PM sadan mein aao” (Let the PM come to the House) and “Where is the PM?”.

Shah said he had the answer. “I want to respond to their questions. Respected Chairman, PM saab is in his office. Are these members keen to hear more? It is something that I can manage. Why are you asking for the PM to come?” Shah said.

Kharge said the Prime Minister’s absence was an insult to Parliament. “This has been a demand of the House that the Prime Minister come and respond after 16 hours of discussion. We are not saying you are incapable. Despite the Prime Minister being present, he is not coming to the House. This is an insult to the House and its members,” Kharge said.

The Opposition members later staged a walkout.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh and Shah said that it was decided in the business advisory committee meeting that any minister could respond to the debate. “They are walking out because they cannot listen to the response, as they could not control terrorism during their time,” Shah said.

He lambasted the Opposition members for questioning the timing and the nomenclature of Operation Mahadev in which three Pakistani terrorists were gunned down. “Har Har Mahadev is not a religious slogan. When Shivaji Maharaj attacked the Mughals, his soldiers gave this war cry. There are various war cries in the army today,” he said.

Shah tore into former home minister P. Chidambaram for demanding proof about the nationality of the terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack.

He claimed the term “Hindu terror” was coined during the UPA regime. “I want to say, Hindus cannot be terrorists,” Shah said.

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi had questioned the government’s silence on China in the discussion. Shah said the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation had signed an agreement with China and got funds from the country, but the NDA government cancelled its licence under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. Shah also accused Rahul of holding a secret meeting with the Chinese ambassador during the Doklam standoff.

Independent member Kapil Sibal asked how armed terrorists could come 400km into India without being caught. “On April 8, the home minister met lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and discussed security. This incident (Pahalgam attack) happened on April 22,” Sibal said.

CPM member John Brittas cautioned the government against using terrorism for religious polarisation.