Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, popularly known as 'Lalan', on Monday accused the opposition of staging a 'drama' in Parliament and deliberately blocking a debate on Operation Sindoor, which has been listed for discussion in the Lok Sabha. Singh, a senior leader of the Janata Dal (United), a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), strongly criticised the opposition for what he described as attempts to mock democratic processes.
Addressing reporters in the Parliament complex, Singh said that the government is fully prepared to discuss all issues, including Operation Sindoor — a significant counter-terror operation launched on May 7. However, he claimed that the opposition is disrupting proceedings and creating unnecessary drama instead of engaging in meaningful debate.
"The government is ready for all the discussions in the House. It was a big incident, but the opposition is hindering the discussions by causing unnecessary drama. Democracy functions on the basis of discussions, not drama," Singh remarked. He went on to say, "The opposition's intention is to make fun of democracy — that is what it is doing."
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On the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, Singh dismissed the opposition's criticism as baseless. The opposition has labelled the SIR process as a ploy for "disenfranchisement" and is demanding a separate debate on the matter in Parliament. Singh, however, called the issue fabricated.
"What is SIR? SIR is nothing. This is the opposition's fabrication," he stated, downplaying the controversy. While the JD(U) as a party has extended support to the SIR exercise, internal differences have surfaced. Notably, JD(U) MP from Banka, Girdhari Yadav, broke ranks with the party and raised concerns about the necessity and timing of the exercise. Yadav expressed fear that the SIR process could cast doubts over the legitimacy of the verdict of the last Lok Sabha elections. In response to his remarks, the JD(U) issued him a show-cause notice.
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Singh also addressed concerns about the law-and-order situation in Bihar, especially after a shocking incident was reported from Gaya. A woman alleged that she was gang-raped inside an ambulance after she fainted during a government recruitment examination for home guards. The ambulance was meant to transport her to a hospital. Police later confirmed that two individuals named in the complaint had been arrested.
When asked about the implications of this incident for law and order in the state, Singh defended the state administration, stating, "Incidents can happen anywhere. This is not about law and order. There is a huge difference between an incident and law and order. Those who commit such incidents are caught within 24 to 36 hours." Singh reiterated that isolated incidents should not be conflated with systemic law-and-order failures, and accused the opposition of using such cases to malign the state's image for political gain.
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