The Pahalgam terror attack;, US President Donald Trump’s claim of brokering the India-Pakistan ceasefire, and the Election Commission’s intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar — these are some of the key issues the Congress plans to raise during the Monsoon Session of Parliament from July 21 to August 12.
With questions raised of late about the future of the INDIA bloc, the Congress’s top leadership is also looking to have “better coordination” with its Opposition partners both inside and outside Parliament, it is learnt. It plans to reach out to them to discuss the issues to be raised in the House this time.
Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi chaired a meeting of the party’s parliamentary strategy group Tuesday at her 10, Janpath residence. The meeting was attended by Leaders of Opposition of both Houses – Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge — other senior leaders including K C Venugopal, P Chidambaram, K Suresh, Tariq Anwar, Kumari Selja, Manish Tewari and Jairam Ramesh.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Congress deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari said, “Our first priority is to demand answers on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Why is the US President repeatedly making the same claim? Why did he say that he was responsible for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan?”
“We will ask the government: who is responsible, why terrorists are not being caught. We are hopeful that the government will give answers,” Tiwari said. He said a discussion will also be sought on the poll panel’s electoral roll revision in Bihar, which he called a “threat” to democracy.
Sources said the Congress will be calling a meeting of INDIA bloc leaders in Delhi on July 19. A source present at Tuesday’s meeting said, “The objective of the meeting is that we want better coordination this time. The issues that we will raise in the upcoming session are very important as they concern national security. The Opposition needs to speak in one voice.”
The coming Parliament session will be the first since the Pahalgam attack on April 22, which killed 25 tourists and a local ponywallah. Soon after the attack, Opposition parties made repeated calls for a special session of Parliament, with INDIA bloc’s top leaders writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 2. Two INDIA bloc parties — AAP and NCP (SP) —did not sign the letter.
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Tiwari said the Congress will also discuss the issue of impeachment motion against former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, from whose residence stacks of currency notes were allegedly recovered.
He said the other issues that the Opposition will highlight will include the statehood to J&K, women’s safety, farmers’ distress, and the Ahmedabad plane crash.
