Monsoon session of Parliament: After intense debate on Operation Sindoor, INDIA bloc set to intensify stir on SIR

Last week, the government and the Opposition crossed swords in Parliament during a discussion on Operation Sindoor.

After a week of intense debate on Operation Sindoor in both Houses of Parliament, the INDIA bloc parties, in an unanimous decision, resolved to intensify their protests on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar in the week starting tomorrow.

Last week, the government and the Opposition crossed swords in Parliament during a discussion on Operation Sindoor. There was unanimity in praising India’s armed forces, but there was little common ground beyond that.

Operation Sindoor was India’s military response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, on April 22, 2025, which claimed 26 lives. The elimination of three terrorists behind the attack, just before the parliamentary debate, helped the government’s case.

The INDIA bloc leaders have decided to organise a protest march to the Election Commission headquarters next week. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, suggested during the meeting that the Opposition must establish that the EC is going beyond its mandate to determine the citizenship of voters during the SIR exercise.

Rahul Gandhi, along with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, will conduct a two-week long campaign on the SIR issue, in Bihar in the second week of August. Yadav is the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, read a report by The Hindu.

He also urged the INDIA bloc parties to use accessible language in their protests — such as ‘vote-bandi’ (along the lines of ‘notebandi’, the colloquial term used for demonetisation), ‘vote ki chori’, and ‘vote ki loot’ (both meaning vote theft)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday  during his visit to Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi dedicated Operation Sindoor to Lord Mahadev. Addressing crowds during the 51st visit to his Lok Sabha constituency, Modi noted that this was the first time he was visiting Varanasi after India carried out the cross-border operation.

He said that he has fulfilled his pledge to avenge his "daughters' sindoor". The PM said that "26 innocent civilians were mercilessly killed by terrorists in Pahalgam... My heart was full of sorrow... I had pledged to take revenge for my daughters' sindoor, and I fulfilled it with the blessings of Mahadev. I dedicate the success of Operation Sindoor at the feet of Mahadev."