Bihar electoral rolls revision, Pahalgam and Trump's claims on Oppn agenda for Parliament's monsoon session, govt has ‘noted their points'

Indian Express

20-07-2025

The Centre convened an all-party meeting on Sunday, a day ahead of the beginning of Parliament's monsoon session, the first session of the House since the Pahalgam massacre in April. Besides the terrorist attack, the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, and the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar are also expected to dominate proceedings.
Representatives from the government and the Opposition discussed the agenda for the session, and the government said that it had noted down points raised by the Opposition. Members from the Opposition INDIA bloc said they hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would address the nation on important issues from Parliament.
Sources told The Indian Express that while the Centre accepted the Opposition's demand to hold a debate on Operation Sindoor, it was yet to take a call regarding a debate on the SIR in poll-bound Bihar.
Sunday's meeting was attended by Rajya Sabha Leader of the House J P Nadda, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju, and Parliamentary Affairs Ministers of State Arjun Ram Meghwal and L Murugan. The Opposition was represented by Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, the Congress's Jairam Ramesh, Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, CPM MP John Brittas, BJD's Sasmit Patra, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, JMM's Sarfraz Ahmad, and others. NDA ally TDP was represented by Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu.
Rijiju said after the meeting, 'The NDA, UPA (INDIA bloc) and those in between have presented their opinions. We will take all these issues to Parliament, what is to be discussed and what not will be decided in the BAC (Business Advisory Committee).'
'The Government noted their (Opposition) points. We have requested that to ensure that the House functions properly, the ruling side and the Opposition should work together with good coordination. We might be political parties of different ideologies, but it is everyone's responsibility to ensure that Parliament functions properly,' he said.
On the other hand, Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said, 'This time we have more hope than before that Prime Minister Modi will address the country through the House. Those important issues are Pahalgam, the things that the (Jammu and Kashmir) lieutenant governor said about it. A lot of time has passed and the government will have to put forth its point on it. The statements coming from the US President today, in some way, raise questions on the dignity of India, the bravery of the Indian Army. The answers to the US President can be given only by the Prime Minister.'
Talking about the Bihar SIR, Gogoi said, 'Secondly, important questions are being raised today regarding the right to vote.'
He said the third issue to be addressed is about the 'two-front axis that has been formed on our border with China, Pakistan and Bangladesh.'
'So, it is very important that we talk about defence and foreign policy. It will be very important for Prime Minister Modi to come to this House and put forth his views on these three subjects,' he said.
Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav said the Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor and US President Donald Trump's claims on the ceasefire between India and Pakistan have to be discussed.
'India's foreign policy has completely failed. The foreign policy is successful when the number of our friendly countries increases and the number of enemy countries decreases. No country in the world supported us on Operation Sindoor,' said Yadav and added that 'democracy is going to end completely', referring to the Bihar SIR.
Showcasing unity on the eve of the Parliament's monsoon session, the INDIA bloc on Saturday held a virtual meeting of 24 of its constituents, reaching a consensus on eight major issues that they plan to raise during the month-long session. These include the Pahalgam terrorist attack, Operation Sindoor, the ceasefire announcement by US President Donald Trump, India's foreign policy, and the Election Commission's ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express.
During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state.
During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute.
Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor.
Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More