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Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, on Saturday said the opposition should have stood firmly behind the government during Operation Sindoor, asserting that matters of national security should rise above party politics.
Speaking on the opposition's response to Operation Sindoor, Sharmistha Mukherjee told ANI in an exclusive interview, "When Operation Sindoor happened, the whole of the opposition should have stood beside him (PM Modi) because it's not a question of party politics. But I think the Congress behaved very childishly, and the Congress leadership went after one of their own leaders, Shashi Tharoor, which was, I think, extremely mean and immature." She said political parties have every right to question the government, but issues relating to national security require a united approach. "So when a question of national interest comes, I think everybody should stand together. Of course, this is the legitimate right of the opposition to criticise, to question the government and which they should do so, which the BJP also did. So that is not the question. But when the question of national security comes, when there is a threat to national security, national integrity, then I think everybody should stand with the government," she said. Sharmistha Mukherjee also said that while she personally disagreed with some of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy decisions, democratic debate should be balanced with support for the government on issues concerning the national interest. "No government is perfect. So there are many of his (PM Modi) policy decisions which I also personally do not agree with. That's a legitimate part of the democratic discourse. There is nothing wrong in that. But also side by side, the opposition should be magnanimous enough, which the BJP was also not. When they were in opposition, they were also not magnanimous enough. If not openly praise, support the government in its certain endeavours, and especially when national interests are concerned," she said. Operation Sindoor were carried out to avenge the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and to eliminate Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) leaders involved in planning and executing terrorist attacks in India. Indian Armed Forces successfully struck nine terror targets, four in Pakistan, including Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Sialkot, and five in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), using special precision munitions in a coordinated operation. The operation was jointly carried out by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, with the mobilisation of assets and troops. (ANI)
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