Parliament set to run smoothly as govt, opposition reach deal on Operation Sindoor

New Delhi: The Parliament is expected to run smoothly next week starting Monday as the ruling and Opposition sides reached an agreement over taking up a special discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor on Monday in the Lok Sabha and the next day in Rajya Sabha.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh is likely to initiate the discussion in the lower house and home minister Amit Shah and external affairs minister S Jaishankar are expected to speak. Within NDA circles, it is being expected that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may speak on this issue of national security and turn up the heat on the Opposition, which looks to corner the government over alleged intelligence failures and US President Donald Trump's claims of mediating a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan.

Sixteen hours have been allocated in both Houses for a debate on this issue and it is expected that Rajnath and Jaishankar might speak in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. On Friday, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla chaired an all-party meeting in his chamber where it was decided in the presence of both ruling and Opposition sides to take up a special discussion on Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor on Monday in the lower house.


In Lok Sabha, TDP's Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu and GM Harish Balayogi are also expected to take part in this discussion in Lok Sabha. From the Opposition side, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and MP Rajiv Rai are also likely to take part in the debate. There are indications that leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi may also speak.

In the Rajya Sabha, leader of House JP Nadda is likely to speak while several other NDA leaders, including JDU chief Sanjay Jha might also speak.

Similarly, leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool leader Derek O'Brien may also participate in the debate in the Upper House.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday blamed the Opposition for the washout of the first week of the Monsoon session, accusing it of not allowing Parliament to function despite the government agreeing to its demand for a discussion on these issues right from the session's start.

Asked about the Opposition's demand that Parliament discuss the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, he said all issues cannot be taken up at once and the government will take a call on other matters gradually.

One has to follow the rules guiding discussion in Parliament, he said, when asked about the Opposition's insistence.

With the electoral rolls revision exercise being seen in the government circles as the Election Commission carrying out its mandate, the possibility of a discussion on the contentious issue is slim, sources said.