Operation Sindoor debate: Has Modi outsmarted Opposition on Day 1?

The monsoon session of Parliament may have got off to a stormy note on Monday (July 21) morning, but as the day’s proceedings progressed, the Opposition seems to have been left somewhat stumped by the Centre.

For the past two days, the Opposition’s INDIA Bloc had put its internal discord aside to jointly work on a strategy for putting the government on the mat once the Parliament session began. On July 19, INDIA Bloc leaders outlined a litany of issues on which they wanted discussions during the session; topmost among them were matters related to the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor as well as the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls.

A day later, INDIA Bloc leaders reiterated their demand at the customary all-party meeting that precedes a Parliament session.

Sessions begin as usual

On Monday morning, before Parliament convened, Opposition MPs in both Houses submitted multiple notices, demanding suspension of the listed business in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to allow a discussion on either issues related to Operation Sindoor or the Bihar SIR. As has now become the norm in every Parliament session, the presiding officers in both Houses, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, rejected all such notices post haste, prompting raucous protests by Opposition MPs.

In the Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi was, yet again, denied a chance by Birla to speak while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assured the House that the government was prepared to discuss the issues agitating the Opposition, including those linked with Operation Sindoor. Unimpressed, Opposition members trooped into the Well of the House, forcing an adjournment till noon – a sight that repeated itself mechanically each time the House reconvened after being adjourned – first at noon, then at 2 pm and then at 4 pm when the proceedings were adjourned for the day.

Govt springs a surprise

The surprise for the Opposition, however, came first in the Rajya Sabha. Even before the Opposition could begin its protests over the predictable rejection of its notices given under Rule 267 (suspension of business), Dhankhar declared that he had received a notice under Rule 167 (discussion on a matter of public interest) from BJP MP Samik Bhattacharya request to “discuss Operation Sindoor; a landmark in military brilliance and diplomatic outreach”.

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Dhankhar said he had admitted the notice, listing it as a “no-day-yet-named motion”, and that discussion on the same would be decided in consultation with floor leaders of various parties.

Dhankhar’s announcement made it clear that the Opposition’s demand for a discussion on Operation Sindoor after suspending the listed business of Rajya Sabha as per Rule 267 will not be allowed – and it wasn’t. Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge’s uncharacteristically meek protestations as opposed to the voluble assertion of Leader of the House JP Nadda about the government’s willingness to discuss “all aspects” of Operation Sindoor was a clear sign that the government had got the better of the Opposition on Monday.

Advantage Centre?

That despite a visibly dejected Opposition, Rajya Sabha’s proceedings continued largely undisturbed through the day, with the House even managing to pass the Bills of Lading Bill, 2025, indicated how the Centre had, perhaps, caught its rivals unawares. Though Lok Sabha did not function on Monday like the Rajya Sabha did, the Opposition was left with little to complain about as far as the Centre’s willingness to discuss Operation Sindoor was concerned. Sources in the government indicated that an agreement had been reached with the Opposition to discuss the crucial issue in the Lok Sabha next week for a fairly long duration of 16 hours.

Various Opposition leaders, The Federal spoke to, conceded, off record, that the Centre’s prompt acceptance of their demand to discuss Operation Sindoor had left them with little to protest over on the matter, at least for now. As such, the Opposition MPs chose to then assert that they would “wait to hear the government’s response” on the subject and that the Centre must also show similar willingness to discuss other important issues flagged by them, starting with the Bihar SIR.

MP dares Modi to answer other queries

“We will see what the government has to say. Let them come to the House and explain. There are other issues also we are raising apart from Operation Sindoor; Bihar SIR, foreign policy failures, atrocities on women; will they dare to have discussion on all of them. Will the Prime Minister dare to face Parliament and answer our questions,” Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Chowdhury told The Federal.

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What seems to have left the Opposition surprised and suspicious in equal measure is the Centre’s overzealousness to discuss Operation Sindoor. That Bhattacharya’s notice in Rajya Sabha was moved under Rule 167, instead of Rule 176 (short duration discussion), which the government usually prefers when faced with Opposition’s demand for a debate on any prickly issue, has also left many in the Opposition ranks stumped.

What expert PDT Achary says

“Rule 167 is actually the best thing the Opposition could have hoped for because it is a discussion on a motion which has to mandatorily end with the vote. Time allotted for discussion on a motion moved under Rule 167 can also be substantial because unlike Rule 176, which stipulated a discussion of not more than two and half hours, time for discussion under Rule 167 is decided by the BAC after consulting all leaders. Also, if the Opposition is not happy with the way the motion on which discussion is allowed under Rule 167 is worded, it can move for amendments to the wording. I suspect the next challenge for both Opposition and government will be to arrive at a consensus on the wording of the motion,” said PDT Achary, former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha.

Achary also said that the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha had “somehow misunderstood how and when Rule 267 is to be invoked” and that Dhankhar was “not wrong in dismissing the Rule 267 notices of the Opposition because that rule is meant to be invoked sparingly and only to suspend some other rule whereas the Opposition seems to be using it as something like an equivalent to the adjournment motions allowed in the Lok Sabha which have no place in the Rajya Sabha”.

Will Centre go on the offensive?

While it is not yet known under what rule Lok Sabha will discuss Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, Opposition leaders say they would now like to see how the motion for discussing the subject is worded in both Houses of Parliament and that this could become “the next flashpoint” between the Treasury and Opposition benches.

Signs that the Centre plans to hype up Operation Sindoor as yet another feather in Modi’s hat were unambiguous on Monday with the Prime Minister himself taking the lead to give his party colleagues an outline of the narrative they must build till Parliament takes up the issue for discussion.

PM Modi breaks tradition

The start of every Parliament session traditionally has the Prime Minister making a brief statement to the press. Successive Prime Ministers, including Modi, have previously stuck to the format of arriving at Parliament ahead of the start of the session and conveying to the country through the media their hope for a productive session. On Monday, though, Modi broke from tradition and gave a speech of sorts instead of making the succinct customary statement.

Dubbing the Monsoon Session a “celebration of (Operation Sindoor’s) triumph, Modi said, “We know how the spirit of unity and a collective voice fills the nation with great enthusiasm. This Vijay Utsav (celebration of victory) will also be reflected in the Monsoon Session... it will appreciate the strength of our armed forces, glorify the nation’s capabilities, and serve as a new source of inspiration for 140 crore Indians... I accept the reality that political parties are different — each has its own agenda, its own role. But I also acknowledge this truth: even if minds do not meet on party interests, they must come together on national interest.”

Modi’s speech made it clear that the Centre had no plans of giving the Opposition any quarter on Operation Sindoor and that it was determined to extract maximum political mileage from the valour of India’s Armed Forces, especially with polls round the corner in Bihar (the state too found mention in the PM’s speech).

That Bhattacharya’s Rule 167 notice in the Rajya Sabha also sought a discussion on the “landmark military brilliance and diplomatic outreach” of Operation Sindoor and was promptly admitted by Dhankhar, who rarely ever accepts any notice for discussion moved by Opposition MPs on issues that may otherwise embarrass the Centre, was hardly surprising.

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The Opposition now has to wait and see how the government chooses to frame the discussion on Operation Sindoor. More importantly, INDIA Bloc MPS need to find their best speakers who can punch holes in the Centre’s narrative without attracting the BJP’s expected barb of ‘peddling Pakistan’s line’ or ‘undermining the valour of Indian Armed Forces’. The ball is now in the Opposition’s court. Can it turn the tide in its favour on an issue that is emotive and electorally sensitive in equal measure?