Parliament Monsoon Session: Govt agrees to 16-hr discussion on Op Sindoor, Pahalgam terror attack, but next week
The opposition INDIA bloc has, however, insisted that the debate should start this week and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must reply. Protests by Opposition parties disrupted both houses of Parliament on the first day of session.
At the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), attended by members of different parties and chaired by Speaker Om Birla, sources told news agency PTI that the government representatives noted that PM Modi is leaving on a foreign visit this week, and a debate when he is present in the House is possible only next week.
PM Modi will visit the United Kingdom and the Maldives between 23 and 26 July 2025.
According to the news agency, no decision has been made on whether the PM will speak on the issue.
The prime minister met with his senior Cabinet colleagues, who later deliberated on the ruling alliance's strategy.
Opposition members protested at the BAC meeting that the government's agenda for this week did not mention their demand for a debate on the issue.
They said the Home Minister and the Defence Minister should also be present during the discussion. Some opposition members also called for a debate on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and the situation in Manipur.
With the impasse continuing, the Lower House was adjourned for the day as protesting opposition members disrupted proceedings.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi later slammed the government for not including the opposition's demand for a discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor in this week's agenda.
Speaking to reporters, he accused the government of double standards, saying it does not follow what it claims in public.
The government is listing its bills but is not ready to prioritise an issue on which the entire nation wants to hear from Parliament.
"The government is listing its bills but is not ready to prioritise an issue on which the entire nation wants to hear from Parliament," he said.
India launched Operation Sindoor – its precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir – on May 7, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed in South Kashmir's fabled hill station on April 22.
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