The prime minister is disrespecting the Rajya Sabha by not attending the session while he was in Delhi, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Mallikarjun Kharge said
NEW DELHI — As the special discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor entered its third day in Parliament, Rajya Sabha witnessed raucous scenes on Wednesday.
After a heated session in the upper house, the Congress party and other members of the INDIA bloc staged a walkout, demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi be present in the House to respond to questions related to Operation Sindoor. The protest unfolded just as Union Home Minister Amit Shah began replying to the Opposition’s concerns.
Despite the home minister’s assurance that he would address every raised point, Opposition MPs shouted slogans such as “PM ko bulao (Call the prime minister)”, stalling the session and refusing to engage in the minister’s detailed response.
“You have to deal with me first. Why do you want to call the PM? You will have more difficulty,” Shah responded, directly taking on the protesting MPs. Emphasising that Prime Minister Modi was “very much in office”, Shah questioned the insistence on his presence: “If I can respond and clarify, then why insist on hearing from him?”
As tensions escalated, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Mallikarjun Kharge stood up, reiterating the demand. “The questions pertain to PM Modi. I’m not saying you (Shah) are not capable of answering. But if PM Modi, being in Delhi, does not come here, this is disrespect of the Rajya Sabha,” Kharge said before walking out, followed by all Opposition MPs.
However, Amit Shah continued his address, calling out what he termed the Opposition’s double standards and lack of political will to discuss the facts.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi called the Pahalgam strike the “height of cruelty” and declared that terrorism and its perpetrators “won’t be spared”.
Modi’s remarks came after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned why Operation Sindoor lasted only 22 minutes and challenged the prim minister to publicly call US President Donald Trump a liar over his repeated claims of mediating an India-Pakistan ceasefire.
Congress chief Kharge also questioned the ceasefire with Pakistan and the prime minister’s silence over Trump’s truce claims. Priyanka Gandhi also slammed the government over the intel lapse and lack of security at the attack site.
Meanwhile, TMC MP Dola Sen asked whether it was a coincidence that the Pahalgam attackers were killed right before the debate on Operation Sindoor.
“Pahalgam attackers eliminated right before Parliament debate on Operation Sindoor an ‘astonishing coincidence’,” she said, responding to Shah’s statement that all three terrorists killed in ‘Operation Mahadev’ were the same who staged the terror attack in Pahalgam. — With inputs from IANS
