'Why did you name it Operation Sindoor?' Jaya Bachchan sparks row in Parliament

Speaking in Rajya Sabha during the debate on Operation Sindoor, Bachchan started her speech by expressing her condolences to the families of the 26 innocents killed in Pahalgam's Baisaran Valley on April 22.

Addressing the treasury benches, she said, "I would congratulate you on the writers you have hired. You give grand names. Why did you name it 'Sindoor'? Sindoor toh ujad gaya (sindoor was destroyed), the wives of those who were killed."

On being interrupted by MPs during her speech, she said: "Either you speak or I will speak. When you speak, I don't interrupt. When a woman speaks, I never interrupt. So please mind your tongue."

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who was seated next to Bachchan, also came under fire for trying to calm her down.

"Priyanka, don't control me," the veteran actress said to which Chaturvedi responded with a laugh.

The Samajwadi Party MP also questioned the government on the intelligence failure that led to the Pahalgam terror attack.

"You have destroyed the faith of the people. The families (of victims) will never forgive you," she said.

Bachchan's remarks on Operation Sindoor's name have now drawn fire from the BJP.

"Just see their mindset. Jaya Bachchan ji, the terrorists destroyed sindoor, but sindoor is not just for embellishment; it is also a symbol of strength and capability. The name Operation Sindoor was chosen to send a message: you wipe off sindoor, we will destroy you. This was achieved," BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.

The name 'Operation Sindoor' was reportedly chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the terrorists in Pahalgam killed Hindu men in front of their wives and children.

Sindoor in Hindi means vermilion, which Hindu women put on their head as a symbol of marriage.

The name of the operation struck an emotional chord with the loss of these women, whose partners were brutally murdered in front of their eyes.