With the second half of the Budget session set to begin from Monday, 9 March, the Congress on Friday demanded that a full-fledged short-duration discussion be held on the Middle East situation after US-Israel attacks on Iran and the subsequent killing of the regime’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last weekend.
The Congress, the country’s principal opposition party, has asserted that a suo motu statement by the government would not suffice.
The Budget Session of the Parliament began with the President, Droupadi Murmu, addressing the Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on 28 January. The first phase of the budget session continued till 13 February, and the second phase will take place from 9 March to 2nd April. There will be 30 sittings during the session.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, told news agency PTI that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government today stands “shrunken and diminished” with India’s global standing never being “as weak as it is now”.
‘Googlies being bowled from Washington’
Ramesh said the government was making India play “second fiddle” not only to the US but also to Israel. The Congress used cricketing analogy and said that the Modi government has been on a sticky wicket for a long time with “googlies being bowled from Washington“.
“The second phase of the Budget session starts on March 9 and it is scheduled to go up to April 2. So, it’s a 25-day period, but actually the number of sittings is only 17 because a large number of important festivals and holidays are in this period. The appropriations bill, the finance bill will have to be discussed. We’re also going to be discussing the functioning of four or five ministries. So, there is a set schedule for this phase,” he said.
However, there are very many important issues, the Indo-US trade deal, the continued blackmail by the United States when it comes to India’s purchases of oil from Russia, the targeted assassinations of the Supreme leader in Iran and a large number of political and military leaders and the continued West Asia conflict that has expanded into other parts of West Asia, he said.
“There were the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran and the subsequent attacks by Iran on the Gulf countries. There are almost 10 million Indians who work in this region, whose lives, livelihoods, safety, security are affected. So, it’s a very important economic issue. We get about 50-60 billion dollars of remittances every year from this region, if not more. So, it’s a very important issue for us and we will certainly demand an urgent discussion on the West Asian situation,” Ramesh said.
Referring to a US submarine torpedoing and sinking an Iranian warship in international waters off Sri Lanka’s coast, he said this was extraordinary and had never happened before.
Ramesh asserted that the government’s suo motu statements are meaningless because no clarifications are allowed.
“We want a full-fledged short duration discussion. It should not be a suo motu statement on behalf of the government because just to demand a statement is meaningless as the minister would come, make a statement and go. You are not allowed to ask any questions. So we need a full-fledged short duration discussion on the West Asian situation caused by the aggression of the US and Israel on Iran and the subsequent attacks by Iran on Gulf countries, the activities of the US navy in the Indian Ocean,” Ramesh said.
Earlier this week, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi demanded that when Parliament reconvenes for the second part of the Budget session, the government’s “disturbing silence” over the breakdown of international order must be debated openly and without evasion.
The prime minister is silent on the assassination of Iranian leaders by Israel and the US, on Trump’s claims on the haltage of Operation Sindoor, on American pressure to reduce oil imports from Russia, he said.
“So, the PM who spares no effort to defame opposition leaders, when it comes to President Trump’s actions or Israel’s actions, is completely silent. This is not the India that the world knows,” Ramesh said.
India’s response to US-Israel attacks
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken with leaders from all Muslim nations and Israel but has not spoken with anyone in Iran. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, however, said on Thursday that he had a telephonic conversation with Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
The Modi government today stands ‘shrunken and diminished’ with India’s global standing never being ‘as weak as it is now.’
India has offered condolences on the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri signing the condolence book at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi on Thursday.
(With PTI inputs)
