🎭 Political Theatre | Leaders show rare united front as Operation Sindoor dents terrorists and Pakistan

Hello, dear readers!

Another week has passed by, a week that saw significant developments that led to political sights which are as rare as finding a four-leafed clover. It also saw renewed hope in eradicating terrorism, and a new Pope that Trump may, or may not, like.

So, without further ado, let the curtains rise to this week's DH Political Theatre!

Divided by ideologies but united in grief and retribution

In politics, unity between ideologically different parties is almost impossible to think of. However, even the impossible becomes possible in extraordinary circumstances.

The Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which saw 26 people killed, was an extraordinary circumstance. It left the whole nation in shock and seething with anger, seeking justice and retribution against the perpetrators, the Resistance Force, which is a front of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Laskhar-e-Taiba.

Putting their politics and ideologies aside, all Indian parties united to support any action the Centre and the Armed Forces took.

Two weeks since the attack, in the dead of night (between 0105 and 0130 hours on May 7), the Indian Armed Forces provided the retribution that citizens sought through Operation Sindoor, hitting at the core of the terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, destroying nine terror camps.

Operation Sindoor's success was hailed by leaders across the country, from regional to national, from MPs and MLAs to CMs, Ministers, and LoPs.

The next day, leaders across the political spectrum attending an all-party meeting convened by the government were united in support of Operation Sindoor.

"All the leaders have shown maturity at a time when the nation was faced with big challenges," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters.

It was an extremely rare sight for the Indian political sphere, but the circumstances themselves were also extraordinary.

Power, precision and maybe even some perception?

While the operation was lauded almost unanimously in India, the symbolic messages that India has been giving through its actions has also been loud and clear.

The government’s choice of the name Operation Sindoor signalled its intention to avenge the widowed women in the Pahalgam attack. It was intended to invoke the image of Himanshi Narwal sitting beside the body of her slain husband Vinay Narwal, who was an Indian Naval officer.

Further, it was two female defence officers, Colonel Sofia Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, who addressed the media on the operation conducted by the armed forces.

Arathy, daughter of Kochi native N Ramachandran who was killed in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, said, there is no better name than 'Operation Sindhoor' to the terrorist act that wiped off the sindoor of many women like my mother.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said that a war cannot be won on emotions and wondered whether the name "Operation Sindoor" was picked by the government for scoring "sentimental benefits".

Whether or not it provided political benefits to any party remains to be seen, but the optics certainly did boost the nation's morale.

PM Modi misses meet, LoP Kharge turns up the heat

Thursday's all-party meet was the second since the Pahalgam attack. And both were chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. PM Modi skipped both of them.

No matter how united the Opposition is with the Centre given the circumstances, they were bound to question his absence.

"We wanted the PM to participate and briefly talk about the action against terrorism. We salute the jawans who have shown bravery. We wanted him to come and brief us but he did not. He had not even attended the last meeting," Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge said after Thursday's all-party meet.

This came after Kharge had claimed he had received information that the Prime Minister had cancelled his visit to Kashmir on April 19 following intelligence inputs, and questioned why that intelligence wasn't given to security forces in the area.

Reacting to those allegations, BJP Jharkhand president Babulal Marandi said Kharge's criticism of Modi was "uncalled for", as it "lowers the morale of security forces" at a time the fight against terrorism and Pakistan was at a "decisive juncture".

Nation stands united, yet some noises of bickering remain

While the nation focus was on the tensions on the border, Assam's CM and Lok Sabha's deputy LoP continued their usual political back and forth with fresh allegations.

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Tuesday hit back at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for making allegations against his wife, saying the BJP IT cell was indulging in "petty politics" at a time the entire country was united and supporting the Centre in its efforts against Pakistan.

Sarma had alleged Gogoi's wife, Elizabeth Colburn, had "good relations" with the Pakistan Army, adding that she had travelled 19 times between India and Pakistan, and Pakistan Army officials had accompanied her in the neighbouring country.

Perhaps even in the most unusual of circumstances, it isn't possible to expect complete unity between politicians.

No water says Haryana, too much water says Punjab

In the background of the conflict between India and Pakistan, tensions between Punjab and Haryana are also extremely high.

The Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab on Monday moved a resolution in the state assembly here, vowing not to spare even a single drop of water from its share for the neighbouring state.

Even here, political parties united in their stand, with Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa extending full support to the resolution.

This was after Haryana's leaders, at an all-party meet, hit out at the Punjab government, saying not following the Board's direction to release water was "unconstitutional, inhuman" and an attack on the federal structure of the Constitution. CM Nayab SIngh Saini also claimed that there was a drinking water crisis in Haryana.

The Supreme Court intervened on the matter and, after hearing submissions, directed Punjab and Haryana to cooperate with the Centre in reaching an amicable solution on the SYL canal dispute.

Since then, it seems the states have put aside their issues for now to focus on the border tension, as Punjab shares a border with Pakistan and needs to remain on alert over potential attacks.

Slowly, steadily, Bihar prepares

While the elections themselves will be conducted somewhere around October-November, politicians in Bihar are slowly building up steam towards the last dash.

Last week saw two NDA leaders, Anil Singh, a former BJP leader, and Shambhu Patel, who was with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), inducted into the Congress.

Meanwhile, their I.N.D.I.A. bloc allies, stated that they are set to contest 12-15 seats out of the 243 assembly seats in Bihar, subject to discussion with their allies.

I.N.D.I.A. bloc seems determined to win in Bihar, having faced the humiliation of being kicked out of power after JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar switched sides to the NDA to form a fresh govt in the state. They will also hope that a victory for them might sway the Bihar CM's loyalty again, and through it, put pressure on the ruling NDA in the Centre.

Organic innovation, or 'Gobarnama'?

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav was at it again against UP CM Yogi Adityanath, this time taking shots at the BJP leader's directive to use cow dung-based paint in government buildings.

"Gobarnama: BJP government's new feat," Yadav said in a post on X in Hindi.

Reacting to Yadav's post, BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi claimed the Samajwadi Party chief hated cow dung and cattle.

"Yadavuvanshi Akhilesh Yadav hates cow dung and cattle. Has he forgotten Indian culture and traditions after going to Australia, or does he insult cow, Ganga and Gita for his appeasement politics?" Tripathi asked.

Half of Trump's wish comes true, somewhat

US President Donald Trump, when asked who he wanted as the next Pope, had jokingly said that he would be his own “number one choice”, reports had said.

This was followed by the White House's official social handles sharing an AI image of Trump as the Pope.

It seems Trump's wish somewhat came true, somewhat.

Robert Francis Prevost, who was elected the 267th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday and took the name Pope Leo XIV, is the first Pope from the United States.

So while Trump himself wasn't elected Pope, at least it was an American. However, Pope Leo did, at one point in time, criticise Trump and Vance. So it remains to be seen what the White House's attitude to their home-grown Pope will be.

That is all about the political drama that unfolded this week. DH Political Theatre will come back again next week with more political advancements from around the globe.

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DH Newsletters Team