E-Paper
Opposition looks to corner government in Parliament over Pahalgam, US claims, Bihar SIR
The opposition parties met online on Saturday evening in a show of strength aimed at reviving the fragile bloc
New Delhi: Twenty-four parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc on Saturday decided to mount a coordinated attack against the Narendra Modi government over the Pahalgam terror attack, foreign policy issues such as the US’ claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and the controversial electoral roll update in Bihar during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
The opposition parties, meeting online on Saturday evening in a show of strength aimed at reviving the fragile bloc, demanded that Prime Minister Modi personally address critical security and diplomatic issues, including the Pahalgam attack, developments during Operation Sindoor, including the capture of the perpetrators who remain at large and claims by US President Donald Trump that America brokered the ceasefire on May 10.
“The most important issue is linked with the prestige and security of 140 crore people. In Pahalgam, terrorists have wiped away the sindoor of our sisters, but we don’t know where they have disappeared. There is a major intelligence failure,” Congress Rajya Sabha deputy leader Pramod Tiwari told reporters after the meeting.
The opposition also targeted the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which began in Bihar but is expected to extend to all states. Tiwari termed this “votebandi,” alleging systematic voter deletion, and declared: “This is the first time there is a threat to the voting rights of the people.” RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s proposal for a big rally against the SIR was accepted by all leaders.
The virtual gathering aimed to project unity a day after the Aam Aadmi Party’s exit dealt a blow to the opposition alliance. However, the meeting missed three key leaders—West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, and Samajwadi Party’s Lok Sabha leader Akhilesh Yadav. The alliance plans to organise a physical meeting subsequently, Tiwari announced.
According to people present at the meeting, some internal friction surfaced when CPI chief D Raja indirectly criticised Rahul Gandhi’s Friday statement in Kerala that “both RSS and the communists don’t have feelings for the people,” which had led to a wave of protests from Left leaders. “We should have frequent meetings of the INDIA bloc. Else, leaders are attacking each other. INDIA bloc leaders are comparing political parties with RSS and BJP. There should be some courtesy. We are all fighting against the RSS and the BJP,” Raja said without naming Gandhi.
The meeting made a strategy to expose what is said was the government’s failure and raise issues affecting 140 crore people in Parliament. Many leaders pressed for the Prime Minister’s reply on security and foreign policy issues.
Foreign policy concerns featured prominently in discussions, with leaders flagging the Gaza situation and India-China relations as the “third most important issues” – after the American remarks on Operation Sindoor and the Bihar voter roll exercise. “President Trump has said 24 times that the US intervened for a ceasefire. The PM must reply on these issues,” Tiwari said. Samajwadi Party’s Ramgopal Yadav expressed concern over “the US President interfering in our foreign policy.”
CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, attending his first INDIA bloc meeting, supported the national and foreign policy focus but emphasised bread-and-butter issues. “We must raise important issues for people. Unemployment, price rise, distress of farmers and attack on women and adivasis during the anti-Maoist operations,” Baby said.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah linked the Pahalgam attack to the statehood issue, noting that the Lieutenant Governor had accepted responsibility for the security failure. Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray questioned how terrorists infiltrated and escaped from Pahalgam.
Other leaders raised diverse concerns, including federalism (DMK’s Tiruchi Siva) and attacks on Bengali communities in Delhi (Forward Bloc’s G Devarajan). Trinamool’s all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee wanted the bloc to focus on how the BJP “on one hand unleashed ED and other agencies against the Opposition and on the other side the EC is removing voters.” Banerjee said that the BJP is “butchering democracy.” Devarajan also sought support for an upcoming workers’ strike, which received backing from Banerjee.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge initiated discussions by highlighting the Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor, and SIR issues, and urged other leaders to identify other issues, one of the people at the meeting said. Rahul Gandhi, this person added, urged leaders to “speak in one voice” against a government that “doesn’t have empathy for the people.” Gandhi added that the Prime Minister has not replied to questions raised over Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack. “The PM is not giving answer, they are trying to hide facts,” he said.
Of the 34 parties in the INDIA bloc, the 24 with parliamentary representation that attended included Congress, DMK, TMC, Samajwadi Party, RJD, NCP(SP), Shiv Sena(UBT), CPIM, CPI, JKNC, PDP, CPI-ML, JMM, IUML, KC(M), MDMK, VCK, RSP, KC(J), KMDK, AIFB, MMK, PWP, and RLP.
