‘Maunvrat, maunvrat’: Shashi Tharoor ahead of scheduled discussion on Operation Sindoor

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Operation Sindoor on the sixth day of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor hinted that he was unlikely to speak in the debate today.

“Maunvrat, maunvrat,” Tharoor told reporters, smilingly after being asked about today being an important day given the 16-hour-long discussion scheduled on Operation Sindoor.

Tharoor led a multi-party delegation, visiting various countries, to apprise the world about India’s stand against cross-border terrorism following Operation Sindoor, which was launched in retaliation against the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.

Proceedings of both houses of Parliament were adjourned until noon on Monday, shortly after they convened amid a ruckus over demands for discussions on various issues, including Operation Sindoor and the voter list revision exercise being carried out in Bihar.

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla adjourned the lower house proceedings till noon amid sloganeering by the opposition as multiple MPs held banners and protested at the well of the house.

Before adjourning the house till noon in Question Hour, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that opposition members were deliberately disturbing the proceedings of the house. He asked Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi to instruct members of his party not to display posters, as that is not the purpose of sending MPs to Parliament.

He said members resorting to such a protest were lowering the dignity of the house. The Speaker said that members are not being allowed to speak in Question Hour, and the people of the country are watching. The house is being disturbed deliberately, he said.

Birla, who chaired the house, reprimanded the Opposition MPs for sloganeering inside the house.

“Respected members, do you want to obstruct the house? Do you not want to discuss Operation Sindoor? Both Gogoi and people from the government had come (for an all-party meeting), you said to do a discussion on Operation Sindoor, now you are interrupting the house. Question hour is the members’ most important time,” Birla said before adjourning the lower house.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha was also adjourned until noon today amid a ruckus raised by the opposition after Deputy Chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh declined notices demanding a discussion on the closure of government schools in Uttar Pradesh.

“The notice of Sanjay Singh has demanded a discussion over the violation of the right to education due to the large-scale merger and closure of government schools in Uttar Pradesh. Since the notices do not conform to the detailed directives imparted by the chair. The same are declined,” Singh said before adjourning the upper house.

Moreover, Singh rejected 26 adjournment notices given by opposition members, including on SIR in Bihar and alleged discrimination against Bengalis in other states. Opposition members resorted to protests, and the house was adjourned till 12 noon.

Earlier, he cited rules and stated that the submission of physical notices has been discontinued, and members should submit them only through the Digital Sansad portal.

Ahead of the 16-hour-long discussion on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has appealed to the opposition not to speak in the language of Pakistan.

He said that there was a need to be mindful and maintain the dignity of the Indian armed forces.

“I request the opposition, especially the Congress, not to do anything to harm India’s interests and not speak Pakistan’s language. We have to be mindful. We have to maintain the dignity of the Indian armed forces,” Rijiju said.

Lok Sabha is set to hold a special discussion on ‘Operation Sindoor’, India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

A fiery debate is expected to unfold in Parliament between top leaders from the ruling alliance and the opposition.

Lok Sabha’s listing for the Business for Monday “Special Discussion on India’s strong, successful and decisive ‘Operation Sindoor’ in response to terrorist attack in Pahalgam”.

Twenty-six civilians were killed in the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, after which India retaliated through precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Even since the monsoon session began on July 21, the Parliament has witnessed constant adjourments amid uproar over the demands of the opposition to push for a debate on issues of public importance, including the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack and the ongoing SIR exercise being carried out by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

The opposition has also demanded that PM Modi respond to the repeated claims made by US President Donald Trump of initiating a “ceasefire” between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor. (ANI)