Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 27: As after the first week’s total disruption of the proceedings both Houses of Parliament preparing for a heated discussion on the “Operation Sindoor” and the Pahalgam terror attack from Monday, the Opposition is in dilemma over co-operating with the treasury benches in allowing smooth functioning of Parliament.
The question before the Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc is whether Operation Sindoor or the on-going “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar is more important. The first week’s proceedings were disrupted in both the Houses of Parliament by the opposition which was demanding a government response on “SIR” and will have to give up its demand for immediate scrapping of the electoral roll revision in Bihar if they have to participate in the discussion on Operation Sindoor and Pahalgam attack.
Many of the opposition leaders believe that while “Operation Sindoor” was important, greater attention need to be paid to “SIR” as this would be hurting the rights of the people and that at least two of the major partners in the INDIA bloc, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) would be more keen on the SIR issue than Operation Sindoor. If the two Houses begin discussions on Operation Sindoor and Pahalgam as the schedule, the ruling alliance and the Opposition will lock horns over the two issues framed around national security and foreign policy imperatives.
With an eye on polls in Bihar and Bengal later, the TMC, Congress and the RJD feel that if the government was not cornered on the issue of SIR, it could hurt their core vote bank. Over the last few days of the first week of the monsoon session the INDIA bloc was united in the fight against SIR. Wearing black bands and carrying posters, it was a rare show of strength. The worry within the INDIA bloc is that SIR would not be limited to only Bihar and Bengal.
It’s a catch-22 situation. The Opposition would earn the label of being anti-national in case the Operation Sindoor discussion is boycotted or ruckus is created by the Opposition parties. But for the TMC and RJD, SIR is clearly more important as Bihar going to the polls later this year and West Bengal early next year. In addition, some other parties like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were not keen to give a platform to the PM on Operation Sindoor. “When the PM speaks on Operation Sindoor, he is bound to make a huge impact and the Opposition may be caught on a backdoor. Why should we allow him to do so,” they asked.
But not allowing a discussion could be a tough one to explain to the voters as to why the Opposition running away from the debate on this issue which also has a potential of hurting the government if it can push the narrative that the government buckled under American pressure.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who will be one of the lead speakers, wants to corner the government on two issues – one, repeated claims by US President Donald Trump that he brokered the ceasefire between Pakistan and India. Two, where are the terrorists who carried out the Pahalgam attack? The Congress would not want to give up this chance.
In addition, the BJP also will legitimately ask: If the Opposition was stressing on a special session on Operation Sindoor, why it is not allowing a debate now. The dilemma has reportedly left the Opposition divided. However, the INDIA bloc will meet early Monday morning to take a final call on this. The choice between Sindoor and SIR will be tough.
When the Houses resume on Monday, the BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance and opposition parties are expected to field their top guns during the discussion on Operation Sindoor and Pahalgam in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Sources said Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be speaking on the issues amid indications that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may make an intervention to convey his government’s track record of a “robust” stand on national security.
Leaders of the Opposition in both Houses, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, may lead the charge against the government along with Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, besides a host of other leaders.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had said on July 25, after the first week of session ended up a virtual washout, that the Opposition has agreed to the start of a discussion on the twin issues in the Lok Sabha on Monday followed by Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Besides its battery of ministers and leaders like Anurag Thakur, Sudhanshu Trivedi and Nishikant Dubey, the ruling NDA is expected to field its members from the seven multi-party delegations that had travelled to over 30 world capitals to present India’s case after Operation Sindoor. They include Shrikant Shinde of the Shiv Sena, Sanjay Jha of the JD(U), and Harish Balayogi of the TDP, among others.
A big question mark is on whether Shashi Tharoor, who had led the delegation to the US among other countries, will be picked as speaker by the Congress, as the seasoned Lok Sabha member’s enthusiastic endorsement of the government’s action following the terror attack has soured his ties with his party.
Since he led an important delegation, a way may be found for him to speak.
Opposition parties have framed their public criticism of the government around the alleged intelligence lapses behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 civilians killed, and US President Donald Trump’s claims of mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Mr Gandhi has repeatedly attacked the government’s foreign policy, claiming India did not receive international support in Operation Sindoor and has cited Trump’s frequent mediation claims to target the ruling alliance. Mr Modi, on his part, has lauded Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror sites in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack, for meeting 100 per cent of its objectives and proving the mettle of India’s indigenous defence weapons and platforms.
Both countries were involved in a four-day conflict after Pakistan retaliated against India taking down its facilities housing terrorists. India has asserted that several air bases of the neighbouring country suffered serious damage. Modi said India has drawn a “new normal” in its response to Pakistan-linked terrorism, and it will not differentiate between terrorists and their sponsors.