New Delhi, Jul 29: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the government over the “lapses” that led to the Pahalgam terror attack and said Home Minister Amit Shah talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and even her mother’s tears in Lok Sabha but did not answer “why the war” against Pakistan was halted.
She also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying leadership is not just about taking credit but also taking responsibility.
Participating in a special discussion in Lok Sabha on “India’s strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam”, Priyanka Gandhi said that if no aircraft had been downed during Operation Sindoor then what is the problem in stating this in Parliament.
She also asked who will take responsibility of the failure of intelligence agencies in preventing the Pahalgam attack and whether Home Minister Shah resigned or took responsibility for it.
Was no government agency in the know that such a dastardly terror attack is going to happen and a plot is being hatched in Pakistan, the Congress general secretary asked.
“It is a big failure of our government and intelligence agencies. Who will take responsibility of this? Has anyone resigned? They keep talking about past but who will answer about what is happening in present,” she said.
A combative Priyanka Gandhi also took on Shah for his remarks earlier in the day when he cited then Union minister Salman Khurshid’s remarks to claim that then Congress president Sonia Gandhi “cried for the Batla House terrorists”.
“My mother’s tears were talked about in the House, I want to answer this. My mother’s tears fell when her husband was martyred by terrorists, when she was only 44-years-old. Today, I am standing in this House and talking about those 26 people (who were killed in Pahalgam) because I know their pain and feel it,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
The Congress MP from Wayanad in Kerala said Shah talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, even her mother’s tears but did not answer “why the war was halted at a time when the enemy had nowhere to go”.
She said that the purpose of Operation Sindoor was to teach Pakistan a lesson, but perhaps this purpose remains unfulfilled, because “our diplomacy has failed”.
“The proof of this is that after Operation Sindoor, a Pakistani general, whose hands were stained with blood, was having lunch with the American president.
“If the purpose of Operation Sindoor was to eliminate terrorism, then Pakistan being chosen as the chairman of the United Nations’ ‘Counter-Terrorism Committee’ has dealt a blow to this purpose. Will our prime minister take responsibility for this, do they have the courage,” she asked.
“This government always tries to evade questions…for this government, everything is politics, PR, propaganda, publicity. This government is engrossed in propaganda, which the public cannot see,” she said.
Hitting out at the prime minister, Priyanka Gandhi also said leadership is not just about taking credit but responsibility needs to be taken.
“For the first time in the history of our country, this happened that a war was stopped abruptly and the announcement of the decision was done by the US President. This is reflective of irresponsibility of our prime minister,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
She said the home minister stated that Pakistan had no choice but to seek refuge but the question is – why did you grant them refuge.
“Terrorists came to our country, killed people, and you are giving them refuge. Why have you not addressed this in any of your speeches,” she asked.
Priyanka Gandhi also read out the names of 25 Indians who were killed in the attack, asserting that she was doing this so that every member of the House realizes that “they too were human beings like us, not pawns in some political game”.
“They too were sons of this country. They too are martyrs of this country. We all have a responsibility towards their families; they have the right to know the truth,” she said.
As Priyanka Gandhi read out the first name, the treasury benches shouted: “Hindu”, to which she replied “Bharatiya”.
Priyanka Gandhi also quoted the wife of Shubham Dwivedi, who was killed in the Pahalgam attack, who said — “I saw my world end before my eyes, there was not a single security guard there. I can say that the government left us orphaned there.”
The question is why was there no security, why wasn’t there even a single soldier, Priyanka Gandhi asked.
“Did the government not know that over a thousand tourists visit there everyday, one has to pass through a jungle route to reach there and there wasn’t even any arrangement for medical facilities,” she said.
People went there trusting this government, and the government left them to the mercy of God, Priyanka Gandhi said.
“I want to ask whose responsibility is the safety of the country’s citizens? Is it not the responsibility of this country’s prime minister? Is it not the responsibility of this country’s home minister? Is it not the responsibility of this country’s defence minister? Is it not the responsibility of this country’s NSA,” she asked.
Yesterday, the defence minister gave a one-hour speech in which he talked about many things, but one matter was overlooked — that why and how 26 people were brazenly killed in Pahalgam, she said.
Lauding former prime minister and her grandmother Indira Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi said the “great patriot” through successful diplomacy, countered US President Nixon and divided Pakistan.
“But Indira Gandhi ji never tried to take credit for it,” she said.(PTI)
