New Delhi: The government has agreed to hold a discussion on Operation Sindoor on the floor of both Houses of Parliament next week. The decision was finalised during the Rajya Sabha’s long-awaited Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting held on Wednesday, after being postponed four times. According to sources, the debate will take place in the Lok Sabha on Monday, followed by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The opposition, which has consistently demanded a full-fledged discussion on the matter, has also pressed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s participation in the debate. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to deliver the concluding reply on behalf of the government. The meeting saw representation from several key parties—Trinamool Congress (TMC) was represented by Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien, while Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh, Congress’s Jairam Ramesh, and DMK’s Tiruchi Siva also took part. On the government’s side, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Rajya Sabha Leader JP Nadda were present.
TMC strongly objected to the delay in holding the discussion, questioning the rationale behind waiting another week. “Why wait for next week? Let the discussion start tomorrow. We already have the issues ready,” a TMC member reportedly argued, urging for immediate deliberation. The party also flagged several other pressing issues to be taken up this week, including the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar, alleged atrocities against Bengali-speaking citizens, and the release of pending MGNREGA dues.
Government representatives responded by stating that Prime Minister Modi’s ongoing foreign tour made it unfeasible to schedule the Operation Sindoor debate this week. The explanation did little to satisfy opposition parties, who, sources say, accused the Centre of merely offering a “consolation prize” by allocating just 16 hours of discussion time. The opposition had been demanding a special session to deliberate on broader national and international issues, including Operation Sindoor, developments in Pahalgam, comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump, and India’s evolving foreign policy.
TMC, sources added, was particularly vocal in highlighting the underutilisation of Parliament’s working hours. “Excluding Question Hour and Zero Hour, we have 56 hours of usable time. We must make the most of it. We insist that at least one major issue must be discussed every week. Let the government bring its proposed bills—we have no objection,” a TMC member reportedly said during the BAC meeting.