New Delhi: Ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament, scheduled to begin on July 21, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of the party’s top leadership on Tuesday (June 15, 2025) to finalise the strategy for the session.
Key issues likely to be discussed include the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the recent Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, the imposition of U.S. tariffs against India, and broader concerns around the state of the economy, inflation, and unemployment.
The Congress-led Opposition is also expected to raise the demand for the Deputy Speaker’s post in the Lok Sabha, with eight-term MP from Kerala, Kodikunnil Suresh, being viewed as a leading contender.
The strategy meeting will be attended by Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, deputy leaders in both Houses, as well as chief whips and whips of the party. The meeting will take place at Ms. Gandhi’s residence at 10 Janpath, and will also see participation from senior leaders who are part of the strategy group.
According to party sources, the Election Commission’s SIR exercise in Bihar is expected to dominate discussions. The Congress and its allies in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance have moved court against the exercise, terming it “unconstitutional” and alleging that it could disenfranchise nearly two crore voters in the State.
The party is also expected to demand accountability for what it alleges were “lapses and losses” during Operation Sindoor, and to seek clarity on the sequence of events that followed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of mediating between India and Pakistan to avert a nuclear confrontation.
The issue of the impeachment of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court, over alleged communal remarks, may also come up for discussion, with a notice for his removal motion currently pending before the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
Meanwhile, the government is expected to move a motion for the removal of another Allahabad High Court judge, Yashwant Varma, who was indicted by a three-judge inquiry panel after half-burnt cash was discovered at his official residence earlier this year, when he was serving in the Delhi High Court.
