Parliament braces for stormy session

A political storm is set to hit Parliament from July 21, as fiery debates erupt over Operation Sindoor, the Pahalgam terror attack and the delay in justice, Donald Trump’s controversial ‘ceasefire’ claims during India-Pak tensions, and Bihar’s special electoral roll revision, which the INDIA bloc warns could trample voting rights.
This will be the first session after Operation Sindoor, which was launched in May following a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people. The government is preparing to bring forward a series of amendments and new legislative proposals across sectors including taxation, sports, education, mining, and shipping. The session will also introduce a new attendance system for MPs, requiring them to mark their presence through a digital device at their designated seats—an effort aimed at increasing transparency and reducing misuse of allowances. The Centre has accepted the Opposition’s demand to hold a debate on Operation Sindoor.
The session is likely to see a detailed statement on Operation Sindoor by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who held two key meetings on Friday evening with his ministerial colleagues and another with top military brass.
Several leaders, including those from the NDA, also want a discussion to highlight the achievements of the government’s foreign outreach through various Parliamentary delegations on Operation Sindoor.
The Congress on Sunday also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself should respond to debates in Parliament’s Monsoon session on various issues including Pahalgam attack, US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire claims and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Congress’ deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said the opposition parties will get an opportunity to seek answers from the government on key issues in this session starting Monday.
“We have more expectations than before that PM Modi will address the nation in Parliament on key issues – Pahalgam attack and the intelligence failure there. It is also important that we support and thank our armed forces in Parliament,” he told reporters after attending an all-party meeting on the eve of the session.
Among others, resolution seeking approval of extension of President’s Rule imposed through Proclamation issued by the President on the 13th of February, 2025 under article 356(1) of the Constitution of India in relation to the State of Manipur will be tabled in the during the session.
A report of the parliamentary committee set up to scrutinise the new Income Tax Bill, 2025, which would replace the six-decade old Income Tax Act, is scheduled to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Another contentious issue in the session would be the “attack on migrants across the country”. TMC’s Banerjee, CPI (ML)’s Bhattacharya, and other netas highlighted that migrants from Bengal and other regions were being attacked. They linked it to the voters’ review. The discussion on migrants and voters rolls in the meeting suggests opposition may be unrelenting on the SIR.
BJP is sure to return fire by saying that the scrutiny of voters was consistent with the Constitution which lays down that only Indian citizens have the right to vote, and by accusing the oppoosition of trying to shield infiltrators from Bangladesh as part of their “votebank politics”.
Amid the differences between the government and the opposition, a rare bipartisanship will see the Lok Sabha bring a motion to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma for alleged corruption. But even here, a fresh faultline is the pendency of the impeachment notice submitted by the opposition against Justice Shekhar Yadav of Allahahad HC for “hate speech”. While the opposition is pushing for Yadav’s sacking, the govt is reluctant to entertain it.