Editorial: Blame game on Operation Sindoor

Parliament missed a historic chance to show unity after the Pahalgam terror attack – a moment that could have sent clear message that India has drawn a new red line in the fight against terrorism

The special debate in Parliament on ‘Operation Sindoor’ provided an ideal platform for lawmakers to send an unambiguous message, cutting across party lines, that the nation was united in its fight against terrorism. However, the occasion turned into a bitter confrontation between the treasury benches and the opposition, which indulged in a political blame game and rhetorical bravado. In the process, the seriousness of the issue involving matters of national security was lost in the din. The House witnessed a highly polarised atmosphere marked by mutual hurling of allegations and digging into the past to raise accusing fingers against each other. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chided the Congress for raising wrong questions and backing the narrative of the enemy country, while the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of “having the blood of the Pahalgam victims on his hands”. A nation, numbed with shock over the targeted killings of tourists, expected the ruling and opposition parties to rise above narrow politics and demonstrate consensus and unity on the issue. It would have been a fitting gesture from Parliament if it had adopted a unanimous resolution condemning the Pakistan-sponsored terror strike and sending a clear message that India has drawn a new red line in the fight against terrorism and that it would hunt down terrorists and their handlers wherever they are holed up. Such a gesture would have meant a potent signal to the international community that the unity displayed by India’s political class on Pakistani terror was not a fleeting occurrence but a reflection of national determination.

The opposition has been trying to make a permanent feature of its criticism against the government that US President Donald Trump has been repeatedly claiming he mediated the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. India had repeatedly rejected these claims. Eventually, the Prime Minister also spoke in Parliament and stated that no world leader had ever told him to stop the war. The matter should have ended there. In fact, irrespective of the party in power, India has been maintaining a consistent position that it would never accept third-party mediation in bilateral affairs. By repeatedly harping on Trump’s mediation claims, the Congress has only lowered the country’s dignity. The opposition should ideally have grilled the government hard over the grave security lapse, rather than negligence, in Pahalgam. It was a multipronged failure at intelligence, security and follow-up action. Intelligence agencies could not get any whiff of the terror attack of such intensity. One wonders how terrorists could cross the border and travel a distance of 200 km to reach Pahalgam without being spotted on the way. They also had a free run at Pahalgam as there was absolutely no security arrangement. After committing such a heinous crime, all the terrorists made good their escape and were killed only after three months.

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