'Briefing foreign govts about Operation Sindoor before Indian Parliament unacceptable: D Raja

New Delhi: Amid demands for a special session of Parliament on Operation Sindoor, CPI leader D Raja on Tuesday said it is "unacceptable" that foreign governments are to be briefed on the matter while Indians "remain in the dark".

The Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary also said that the government's decision to send all-party delegations to key countries, including UNSC members, after Operation Sindoor has been marked by "opacity" and "exclusion".

He said political parties were neither consulted nor briefed on the matter, and there was "no clarity" on the mandate of these delegations.

"It is unacceptable that foreign governments will be briefed while India's own Parliament and people remain in the dark," he said on X.

Many opposition parties, including Congress, have been demanding a special session of Parliament to discuss Operation Sindoor that was launched in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack.

Bringing the recent arrest of an Ashoka University professor over his post on Operation Sindoor to the fore, the CPI leader called it a suppression of dissent.

"Since the Pahalgam attack, the nation has responded with unity against terror. Yet, the BJP has chosen to exploit the moment to deepen divisions, score political points, and suppress dissent. The arrest of Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad—targeted not for his words, but for his identity and reasoned critique—is one among many troubling signs," his post read.

Raja further sought an explanation from the government on the "growing confusion" over the ceasefire terms between India and Pakistan and the role of US President Donald Trump, "who irresponsibly alluded to a nuclear conflict".

"Shockingly, the government has yet not explicitly denied or condemned his claims. This stands in direct contrast to the Foreign Secretary's reported statement before a parliamentary panel that both sides used conventional warfare," he said.

He further questioned whether the government would answer these questions or if India's national security dialogue would "remain hostage to Donald Trump's monologues." The CPI leader asserted that the government must first "respect its own people and institutions" before reaching out to the world.

"India deserves transparency, unity, and dignity not arrogance, opacity, and suppression," he added.

Raja also trained guns on the BJP-led government's foreign policy, stating that "no major nation has stood unequivocally with India".

"Worse, BJP leaders like Vijay Shah' who linked a decorated officer, Colonel Sofia Qureshi, to terrorists purely based on her religion' continues as a minister, bringing international embarrassment," his post on X read.

The Centre on Sunday announced the names of members of seven delegations, which will consist of political leaders, parliamentarians and former ministers, cutting across party lines, travelling to world capitals to put across India's resolve to tackle terrorism against the backdrop of Operation Sindoor.

The delegations are being led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both BJP), Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (DMK) and Supriya Sule (NCP-SP), and will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.