The Congress on Wednesday asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will agree to a full debate in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament on India’s evolving security and foreign policy challenges following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

The upcoming session of Parliament will start on July 21 and conclude on August 12.

Before the dates were announced, the Opposition had sought a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor and the aftermath of the four-day India-Pakistan conflict last month.

The Congress’ demand on Wednesday came a day after Modi hosted members of Indian delegations – comprising former diplomats and MPs – who had visited 32 countries in recent weeks to convey India’s stand on cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.

The diplomatic outreach by New Delhi came in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent Indian military strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what New Delhi claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday also urged the prime minister to convene meetings with leaders of all political parties to build consensus on India’s strategy regarding China and Pakistan, especially in the light of recent statements by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan in Singapore.

Ramesh was referring to Chauhan’s comments to Bloomberg which were viewed by some as an acknowledgement of the Indian Air Force having lost aircraft during Operation Sindoor.

The chief of defence staff told Bloomberg that what was important was “not the jet being down, but why they were being down”.

“Why they were down, what mistakes were made – that are important,” Chauhan had said. “Numbers are not important.”

On Wednesday, Ramesh also urged the government to intensify efforts to bring to justice the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack.

In addition, the Congress leader proposed the formation of a high-level expert committee, similar to the Kargil Review Committee led by K Subrahmanyam, to evaluate Operation Sindoor. This body, he suggested, should examine the future of warfare, evolving military technologies and national strategic communication capacities.