- Hanuman Beniwal joked that Pakistan has become India’s wife after Operation Sindoor in Parliament
- Beniwal said India put sindoor on Pakistan, implying a symbolic marriage between the two countries
- Opposition leader Chandrashekhar Azad supported Beniwal during his speech and sought extra time for him
On a day of sharp exchanges between the opposition and treasury benches during the Operation Sindoor debate in Parliament, there were some moments of comic relief in the Lok Sabha when leaders on both sides of the political aisle laughed out loud.
Hanuman Beniwal, the chief of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and MP from Nagaur, had his fellow MPs in splits when he said Pakistan has become India's wife after Operation Sindoor and that the government should just "bring her home".
Addressing the House late last night, Mr Beniwal said that during Operation Sindoor, the government said Pakistan has been brought to its knees. "You kept the name 'sindoor'. It appeared that India is putting sindoor on Pakistan's hair parting. According to Hindu beliefs, a woman considers her husband her sindoor. India put sindoor on Pakistan, so Pakistan has become its wife. Only vidai (bride's farewell) is left. You go and bring Pakistan home," he said, as members cutting across party lines started laughing.
Nagina MP and Azad Samaj Party chief Chandrashekhar Azad, seated next to Mr Beniwal, was having a roll as the Rajasthan MP spoke. At one point, when someone interrupted him and asked him to wind up soon, Mr Beniwal said, "You spoke for half an hour and you are asking me to go?" When the buzzer rang, signalling that his time was over, the Nagaur MP responded, "Kya ho gaya? (What is it)". Mr Azad intervened and sought some time for his neighbour. Mr Beniwal then told the Chair, "You are making me speak at 10.30 am. My remarks won't be printed in newspapers. I will have to manage with social media," he said, evoking another round of laughter in the House.
Shifting gears to question the government, Mr Beniwal said the security failure that led to the Pahalgam attack must be investigated, and the country has the right to know how this breach happened. He also claimed that the morale of the armed forces has decreased after the government brought the Agniveer recruitment scheme and demanded that this move be rolled back.
