The Government is open to discussing all issues in Parliament, including Operation Sindoor, it said in an all-party meeting held on the eve of the monsoon session, which begins on Monday (July 21, 2025). At the same time, it cautioned the Opposition that any debate on the subject has to be held within the laid-down rules and procedures.
Opposition parties, meanwhile, insisted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should respond on the matter, as well as on U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he brokered peace between India and Pakistan. They also demanded a discussion on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju made it clear that the final call on discussions in Parliament will be taken by the Business Advisory Committees of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Houses of Parliament will have 21 sittings during the Monsoon Session.
‘Not shying away’
“We are very open to a discussion on important issues like Operation Sindoor. These are issues of great national importance. The government is not shying away and will never shy away, but is open to discussions within rules, conventions.” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told journalists after the all-party meeting. He emphasised that, for the government, “niyam (rules)“ and “parampara (conventions)“ are important.
On the Opposition’s demand for Mr. Modi to make a statement on the Pahalgam attack and other issues, Mr. Rijiju said, “I want to make it clear that the Prime Minister remains in Parliament except during foreign travel. The Prime Minister always remains in Parliament, but the Prime Minister does not remain in the House all the time.” He added that Cabinet Ministers are always present in both Houses to respond to the issues concerning their Ministries.
‘PM’s moral duty’
The Congress, however, maintained that it is the Prime Minister’s moral responsibility to give a statement in Parliament on key issues. “We hope that the PM will fulfil his moral duty,” Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi told reporters at the end of the meeting.
He warned that if the government fails to answer the questions that have been raised about the SIR and the Election Commission of India, it will cast a shadow of doubt on the fairness of the poll process and future elections.
At the meeting, according to sources, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Parliamentary Party leader John Brittas questioned the government’s intention to discuss all aspects of Operation Sindoor. At least four questions that he had filed connected to the Pahalgam incident have not been listed, he claimed.
Language debate
An argument reportedly broke out during the meeting when Opposition leaders from Maharashtra — Supriya Sule of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) and the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant — flagged the ongoing language debate in the State, accusing the Centre of trying to impose Hindi. At this point, a Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP hit back at them, accusing the Opposition parties of targeting Hindi-speaking migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
This led to a war of words between the two sides, sources said. Other Opposition parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Left parties, also weighed in on the issue.
The Telugu Desam Party, a key ally of the ruling NDA, joined Opposition parties from southern India to urge the government to provide clarity on the impending delimitation exercise, saying that it has been causing confusion among the electorate.
