NEW DELHI: After a week of disruptions in both Houses during the ongoing Monsoon session, Parliament is set for a heated debate on Monday with discussions on Operation Sindoor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to be present.
A range of issues, including SIR and Operation Sindoor, are expected to feature prominently in the debates between the ruling alliance and the Opposition, who have repeatedly clashed over these matters.
The Opposition is also expected to raise questions over the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar from the post of Vice President, a move still clouded in speculation.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Opposition parties are expected to field their top leaders during the discussions in both the Houses.
Sources indicate that Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will address the issues, with indications that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may intervene to underline his government's "robust" stance on national security.
On the Opposition front, Leaders of the Opposition in both Houses, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, are expected to lead the charge against the government, joined by Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and several other senior leaders.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had stated on 25 July, after the first week of the session ended in a near washout, that the Opposition had agreed to begin the discussion on the twin issues in the Lok Sabha on Monday, followed by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Both sides are reported to have consented to a 16-hour-long debate in each House, which often stretches beyond the allotted time.
In addition to its team of ministers and leaders such as Anurag Thakur, Sudhanshu Trivedi, and Nishikant Dubey, the ruling NDA is also expected to field its members from the seven multi-party delegations that travelled to over 30 world capitals to present India's case after Operation Sindoor. These include Shrikant Shinde of Shiv Sena, Sanjay Jha of JD(U), and Harish Balayogi of TDP, among others.
A key point of speculation is whether the Congress will field Shashi Tharoor, who led the delegation to the US and other countries, as a speaker during the debate.
Tharoor's enthusiastic endorsement of the government's actions following the terror attack has strained his relationship with his party. However, as he led an important delegation, the party may still find a way for him to speak.
As many in the Opposition have said, Opposition parties have framed their public criticism of the government around the alleged intelligence lapses that led to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, and US President Donald Trump’s claims of mediating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly criticised the government’s foreign policy, alleging that India did not receive international support during Operation Sindoor, and has pointed to Trump's frequent mediation claims to target the ruling alliance.
Amid all demands for a debate on the Pahalgam terror attack since the first day of the session, PM Modi, in his customary address to the media on the first day of the session, had lauded Operation Sindoor and termed the Monsoon session as a historic one on India’s victory in it.
Modi had hailed Operation Sindoor and the bravery of the armed forces and soldiers, which destroyed Pakistan-based terror targets in the wake of the Pahalgam attack, with 100% of its objectives and accuracy achieved, showcasing the strength of India's indigenous defence weapons and platforms.
Modi has said that India has established a "new normal" in its response to Pakistan-linked terrorism and that it will not differentiate between terrorists and their sponsors.
The Houses of Parliament are also likely to witness a heated debate on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar by the Election Commission.