External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will brief the Lok Sabha on Monday on the rapidly evolving situation in the Middle East as Parliament reconvenes for the second half of the Budget session.
The minister’s statement, listed in the Lok Sabha’s revised agenda circulated on Sunday evening, comes amid intensifying hostilities in the region involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which have heightened global security concerns and drawn attention in Parliament.
Read Full Story
The development has also triggered political sparring ahead of the session, with the opposition pressing for a full-fledged debate on the conflict and its implications for India.
Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said the opposition would prefer a detailed discussion rather than a ministerial statement, arguing that such statements rarely allow MPs to seek clarifications.
“It has been let known that the External Affairs Minister will make a statement in both Houses of Parliament on the situation in West Asia. The problems with such Ministerial statements are that (i) they convey little of value over and above that is already known; and more importantly (ii) MPs are not given an opportunity to seek clarifications or ask questions,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
He pointed to the debate held in the Lok Sabha on the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 under former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying Parliament had then adopted a resolution condemning the invasion.
Monday’s sitting marks the start of the second leg of the Budget session. Until Saturday, the only item listed on the Lok Sabha’s agenda for the day was an opposition-backed resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla.
The government has said it is closely tracking developments in West Asia, particularly in view of the safety of Indian nationals in the region. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, more than 52,000 Indians have returned home after parts of the region’s airspace reopened following disruptions caused by the conflict.
The security situation remains fragile as US and Israeli forces continue strikes on Iranian targets while Tehran has retaliated with attacks on Israeli positions and US military facilities across the region.
– Ends
With agency inputs
Published By:
Priyanka Kumari
Published On:
Mar 9, 2026 07:15 IST
Tune In
