Following the announcement that India and Pakistan have agreed to cease all military actions, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal demanded that an-all party meeting be called while urging political parties not to attend it until the government assures that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present there.
Addressing a press conference, Sibal said, “I urge all political parties not to attend the all-party meeting unless the Prime Minister assures his presence. If Dr. Manmohan Singh were Prime Minister today, I’m confident he would have attended such a meeting and called a special session of Parliament.”
Sibal referenced a recent social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed the U.S. played a key role in facilitating the "historic and heroic" agreement between India and Pakistan. He also mentioned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments that talks had been underway for 48 hours, and that a neutral site meeting was discussed.
“Why, how, and under what circumstances this understanding was reached—none of this has been explained to us. Even Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken to NSA Ajit Doval. The country deserves to know what transpired,” Sibal said.
"We will not issue any criticism today because this is not the time for criticism. We only want a special Parliament session and an all-party meeting to be called.
I want to appeal to all political parties not to attend the meeting until the government assures them that the prime minister will be present at the meeting as well," Sibal said.
Sibal expressed disappointment over Modi’s absence from the previous all-party meeting after the Pahalgam terror attack.
“Maybe he thought Bihar elections were more important. He had time for Bollywood and Kerala, but doesn’t consider it necessary to visit places like Manipur when tragedy strikes,” Sibal said.
Praising the armed forces, Sibal said the country stood united in its resolve and that India had given a “befitting reply” to Pakistan. His remarks came a day after both nations agreed to cease hostilities across land, air, and sea following four days of escalating drone and missile exchanges.