E-Paper
'India's flag being hoisted on ISS a moment of pride': PM Narendra Modi ahead of Parliament's Monsoon Session
PM Narendra Modi hailed the Monsoon Session of Parliament as a moment of national pride, following India's flag hoisting at the ISS.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Monsoon Session of Parliament begins at a time of “national pride and celebration,” following India’s historic achievement of hoisting the national flag at the International Space Station or ISS.
Addressing the media outside Parliament, shortly before the start of the session, PM Narendra Modi described the milestone as “a victory celebration” for the country and urged all MPs to unite in acknowledging it.
“This Monsoon session of Parliament is like a victory celebration. India's flag being hoisted at the International Space Station is a moment of pride for every Indian,” Modi said.
He added that the achievement would serve as an inspiration for future generations and upcoming space missions.
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, an Indian astronaut, along with three others, returned recently from a successful space mission.
Shukla, or "Shux", his call sign among colleagues and nickname for friends, splashed down on Earth on July 14 after 18 days aboard the ISS. He is the first Indian on the ISS and the second after legendary Rakesh Sharma to venture into space.
Right now, he is in Houston. His wife Kamna, and their six-year-old son, Kiash, are already there. According to an official statement quoting Union minister Jitendra Singh, Shukla and the three other astronauts of the mission will remain in quarantine until July 23 to complete medical and re-adaptation procedures.
Monsoon Session of Parliament begins today
The Monsoon Session of Parliament begins on Monday, with the Opposition INDIA bloc gearing up to corner the Modi-led Centre on several key issues, including the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor, Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and the Air India (AI) 171 crash.
The Opposition is also likely to corner the government on United States President Donald Trump's repeated claims of brokering peace between India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.
This is the first session of Parliament being held after Operation Sindoor, India's precision strike on terror camps in the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people.
Earlier, the Opposition had demanded that the Centre convene a special session of Parliament in the wake of Operation Sindoor. The INDIA bloc will demand justice for the victims and question the government's handling of the attack.
The monsoon session will continue on August 21, with a break from August 12 to August 18. There will be a total of 21 sittings across 32 days.
