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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will initiate the discussion in the Lok Sabha. The government has officially not committed to PM Modi’s speech, but he could join in
The government would also impress upon the opposition during the discussion that almost the entire world stood with India after Pahalgam. (File)
Starting Monday, Operation Sindoor will be discussed in Parliament for 32 hours in all. The discussion is expected to be fiery and confrontational, with the Opposition seeking clear answers while the government would look to turn the tables by questioning the nationalism of the Congress, like after the Balakot air strikes in Pakistan in 2019.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will initiate the discussion in the Lok Sabha. The Opposition’s intent is clear as Rahul Gandhi will open the discussion from the Congress. PM Narendra Modi could intervene in the discussion to speak, which is a key demand of the Opposition, as much as the PM’s presence when the opposition speaks.
Interestingly, the government has officially not committed to the PM’s speech. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said last week that the Opposition cannot decide if the PM will speak. Rijiju said it was similar to how the government cannot decide who the opposition speakers will be. But given that the discussion is only happening after the PM returned from abroad shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would want to unleash its biggest weapon on the Opposition as Operation Sindoor is a brainchild of the PM.
Donald Trump’s claims on ceasefire
The most explosive issue is that of US President Donald Trump, who has made repeated claims, nearly 25 times, that he used trade as a bait to make India and Pakistan stop hostilities on May 10. Both Rajnath Singh and Narendra Modi could counter this, citing Modi’s 35-minute-long phone chat with Trump last month, where Modi did some plain-speak with Trump and told him that the US didn’t mediate a ceasefire.
But India will be careful to not take matters too far by criticising Trump as the India-US trade deal is nearing completion. Instead, the government ministers could question the nationalism and patriotism of the Congress for trusting the words of a foreign leader rather than of their own Prime Minister. India could also lay bare details how Pakistan has suffered big losses during Op Sindoor.
If the Opposition keeps insisting on knowing losses on Indian side, it could become a situation like Balakot where the Opposition had asked for evidence and suffered heavily subsequently in the 2019 general elections.
Security failure in Pahalgam
The security failure in Pahalgam will also be a hot issue. The government in earlier discussions with Opposition did admit to security and intelligence lapses on April 22.
J&K LG Manoj Sinha has officially admitted to the lapses and took responsibility for them. S. Jaishankar, Amit Shah, Anurag Thakur and Nishikant Dubey are expected to speak and lead the charge in Parliament. Mallikarjun Kharge and Akhilesh Yadav will be speaking as well, to try to corner the PM.
Support for India after Pahalgam
The government would also impress upon the Opposition during the discussion that almost the entire world stood with India after Pahalgam. From Washington to Tokyo, from Paris to Canberra, countries condemned the cowardly act in one voice — and backed India’s fight against terror without hesitation, the government may say.
The United States called the Pahalgam attack as “heinous” and even designated The Resistance Front — a Lashkar-e-Taiba proxy — as a terrorist organisation, in a major diplomatic win for India. France offered unwavering support. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack strongly, just as he did during Pulwama.
Russia’s President Vladmir Putin personally called PM Modi to offer condolences and solidarity. Moscow continues to block anti-India proposals at the UNSC. The UK, along with the G7, declared it “an attack on peace and humanity”.
Even China, despite its usual tightrope walking, expressed “shock” and “strong condemnation”. Though Beijing did try to balance with diplomatic doublespeak by mentioning Pakistan’s “concerns”, it didn’t dare repeat Islamabad’s propaganda.
So the UNSC P5 — US, UK, France, Russia, and even China — either fully backed India or stayed neutral. The European Union backed India unequivocally. Japan praised India’s restraint and reiterated its Indo-Pacific partnership. Australia, Italy, Germany, Spain, Israel, and Argentina all condemned the attack in strong terms and extended full support. Even countries that often sit on the fence — like Iran, Palestine, and several Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Jordan — offered clear support to India.
This is expected to put Rahul Gandhi in a spot as he has repeatedly questioned that most countries had not come out in open support of India.
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office….Read More
Aman Sharma, Executive Editor – National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Minister’s Office…. Read More
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