Parliament Monsoon Session from July 21 to August 12

The unusually early announcement came 48 days before the commencement of the session.

New Delhi: The Monsoon Session of Parliament will be held between July 21 and August 12, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced on Wednesday, as the government virtually rejected the Opposition bloc I.N.D.I.A.’s demand for a special session to discuss Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor and subsequent developments.

The unusually early announcement came 47 days before the commencement of the session, with the Opposition believing that it is aimed at blunting its sustained campaign for a special session, which is now planning to send another letter by around 300 MPs after a joint letter by 16 leaders.

The session, which will have 17 sittings, will see a discussion on Operation Sindoor as well as initiation of an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court’s Justice Yashwant Varma. It is also likely to see the government taking credit for the announcement of caste census in a year Bihar is going to Assembly elections.

Announcing the schedule, Rijiju said all issues can be discussed in the Monsoon Session as per rules of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He said the dates were finalised by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday.

Rijiju’s announcement came a day after the I.N.D.I.A. bloc said that its 16 leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Abhishek Banerjee, have signed a joint letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a special session immediately after seven multi-party delegations sent abroad returns this week. AAP too demanded the same in a separate letter.

Congress Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh said “never have the dates been declared 47 days before a session is due” and claimed it has been “done solely to run away” from the demand being made repeatedly by the I.N.D.I.A bloc for a Special Session.

He said they demanded the special session to discuss the “brutal” Pahalgam attacks and the “failure” to bring the terrorists to justice, the “impacts” of Operation Sindoor and its “blatant politicisation”, the “revelations” of the CDS Gen Anil Chauhan in Singapore, the “hyphenation” of India and Pakistan, the “embedding” of China in the Pakistan Air Force, the “continuous claims” of President Trump on mediation, and the “numerous failures” of foreign policy and diplomatic engagements.

“The monsoon session will, however, still be dominated by these issues of supreme national importance. The PM has run away from a special session but will have to answer very tough questions six weeks from now,” Ramesh said, underlining the Opposition strategy.

“Parliamentophobia (noun). My word for the acute condition of a (Modi) government who have a morbid fear of facing Parliament. Running away from a Special Session,” Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien posted on X soon after the schedule was publicised by the government.

O’Brien told reporters that the session is normally announced around 20 days before the actual commencement and it will not deter the Opposition from continuing to demand a special session.

The April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, May 7-10 Operation Sindoor, ceasefire and subsequent developments are all set to dominate the proceedings with the Opposition raising questions over "security lapses that led to attack", “sudden” announcement of ceasefire and US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of mediation as well as losses incurred by Indian armed forces.

With Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, the leader of one of the multi-party delegations sent abroad by the government, claiming that US had no role in ceasefire announcement, Congress Media and Publicity Department chairman Pawan Khera said issues raised by Trump “cannot be responded to or addressed by anyone else but the Prime Minister” and that is why the demand is for a special session seeking responses on this and other linked issues.

The government is expected to counter the Opposition narrative by accusing it of speaking the “language of Pakistan” while highlighting the actions taken against the neighbour, including striking at nine terror camps, inflicting damages to its military infrastructure and keeping in abeyance the Indus Water Treaty among others.

The government will also face questions from the Opposition over Trump’s repeated claims of using trade to enforce the ceasefire between India and Pakistan and the country "not getting enough" international support.

The surprise announcement of conducting caste count along with decennial census by the government days after Pahalgam terror strike will also come up for discussion, as the Opposition and the ruling side are expected to lock horns over the intent of the move. The government has already started reaching out to parties on Justice Varma’s impeachment.