Modi arrives in Parliament ahead of 16-hour Operation Sindoor debate
What's the story
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in the Parliament, as the Lok Sabha prepares to hold a 16-hour special discussion on Operation Sindoor on Monday. Union minister Kiren Rijiju confirmed that the Business Advisory Committee decided to hold a special discussion on this topic, which was also a demand from the Opposition, including Congress, before the session began.
Modi's presence
Will PM Modi attend debate? Opposition demands his presence
Since the Parliament session started on July 21, the opposition has been demanding Modi's presence, seeking answers over topics like the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor and Donald Trump's statements on the ceasefire, the Bihar SIR Process, delimitation, atrocities against Dalits, Adivasis, the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, among others. Modi has been mostly absent, as he was away for an official visit to the United Kingdom and the Maldives from July 23 to 26 during the Monsoon Session.
Debate details
Who will speak during the session?
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will initiate the Lok Sabha debate. Other key speakers from the government side include Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Bharatiya Janata Party MPs Anurag Thakur and Nishikant Dubey. Opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Gaurav Gogoi, Manish Tewari, Akhilesh Yadav, Supriya Sule and Abhishek Banerjee are expected to speak during this session.
Additional participants
NDA leaders from multi-party delegations likely to participate
NDA leaders from multi-party delegations that visited over 30 countries to discuss Operation Sindoor are also likely to participate in the debate. These include Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde, JD(U)'s Sanjay Jha, and TDP's Harish Balayogi. The Congress party has issued a whip asking its Lok Sabha MPs to be present in the House for three days, coinciding with the debate.