Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday questioned the Centre on the whereabouts of the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack while speaking in the upper house during the debate on Operation Sindoor.
Kharge started his speech with tributes to the victims of the barbaric terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Baisaran valley on April 22, saying, "mehendi waale haathon ne pati ki laash uthai hai, bebas rote bachhon ne papa ki jaan ganwai hai, ashru bhare lachaar khadi bebas naari ko dekha hai, Pahalgam ghaati mein humne apno ko marte dekha hai." (hands adorned with mehendi lifted their husbands' bodies, helpless weeping children have lost their father's life, we have seen a tearful, powerless woman standing in despair, we have seen our loved ones dying in the Pahalgam valley).
"Along with the entire country and this House, I condemn the barbaric attack (in Pahalgam) and the continuous support to terrorists by Pakistan. We had condemned Pakistan earlier too, we will condemn them today as well and if this continues tomorrow, we will continue to condemn them. But here, we condemn them and you attend their feast and hug them," he added.
Kharge questions Centre
The Congress leader raised several questions on the government, daring them to admit "security lapses" in Jammu and Kashmir which, he claimed led to the Pahalgam terror attack. He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's absence from the all-party meeting on Operation Sindoor.
Kharge held the government accountable for the recent Pahalgam attack, stating that whoever is responsible should resign. Referring to the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor's acknowledgment of security lapses, Kharge criticised the Centre and demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah take responsibility for the failure in ensuring adequate security in the region.
Kharge seeks acountability
Demanding accountability, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said the government must acknowledge its "lapses" and "failure" in preventing terror attacks. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's statement calling the Pahalgam incident a security lapse, Kharge questioned whether this admission was an attempt to shield the Union Home Minister.
"Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha himself admitted that what happened in Pahalgam was a security lapse, that innocent people were brutally killed, and he took full responsibility. But it is the Home Minister who must be held accountable for the failure in security, not the LG," Kharge asserted.
He also criticised the Modi government for what he described as arrogance and indifference, pointing out that the opposition's letters and concerns have gone unanswered.
