After first week washout, Parliament set for fiery debate on Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor
New Delhi (PTI): The first week of disruption in Parliament's Monsoon session is set to give way to a fiery debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor from Monday as the ruling alliance and the Opposition prepare to lock horns over the two issues steeped in national security and foreign policy imperatives.
The BJP-led ruling National Democratic Alliance and opposition parties are expected to field their top guns during the discussion 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 "robust" stand against terrorism.
Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, may lead the charge against the government along with Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, besides a host of other members.
After the first week of session ended up a virtual washout due to opposition protests on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and other issues, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had said on July 25 that the Opposition has agreed to the start of a discussion on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha on Monday and in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The two sides have consented to a marathon 16-hour debate in each House, which invariably stretches longer in practice.
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 a 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.
Opposition parties have framed their public criticism of the government around 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.
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly attacked the government's foreign policy, claiming India did not receive international support on Operation Sindoor and has cited Trump's frequent mediation claims to target the ruling alliance.
The government has rejected Trump's claims.
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.
The BJP and its allies have highlighted the "new normal" Modi has drawn in fighting terrorism with his muscular response, including striking at terrorist sanctuaries deep inside Pakistan and putting in abeyance the Indus Waters Agreement.
Both countries were engaged in a four-day conflict as Pakistan retaliated after India hit facilities housing terrorists with precise strikes. India has asserted that several air bases of the neighbouring country suffered serious damage, and that the two sides agreed to stop military actions after Pakistan reached out to it.
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.
A bone of contention that persists between the government and the Opposition is the latter's demand for a discussion in Parliament over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar by the Election Commission.
A united opposition stalled Parliament in the first week primarily over this issue as it has claimed that the exercise is aimed at helping the BJP-led alliance in the poll-bound state, amid the EC's assertion that it is solely focused on ensuring that only eligible people cast their votes.
Rijiju has said that every issue cannot be taken up for discussion in Parliament at once, and the government will take a call on the demand for debate on the SIR later in line with the rules.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
