Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that his party was not consulted over the MP delegations that will fan out to various countries post Operation Sindoor and also alleged that 26 tourists were killed in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government did not provide security there.
The Centre picking Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to lead one of the delegations has resulted in a major row as he was not among the four leaders named by the Opposition party to be part of the MPs’ group.
“He did not ask us. Unilaterally, he said it, but for the sake of the country, we did not say anything, and we are sending our representatives as part of a delegation to foreign countries to speak for our country,” he said.
Addressing a large gathering on two years of Congress government in Karnataka, he said, “26 people were killed, but still Modi did not speak a word about it (lack of security) and spoke only what he wanted to.”
The Congress president also alleged that the PM was supposed to go to Kashmir on April 17, but the intelligence department asked him not to proceed and cancel the visit, citing possible trouble there.
“When you knew it — when you cancelled your programme of travelling to Kashmir on April 17 — why didn’t you tell tourists about it through the police? Why didn’t you ask them not to go, as there might be some trouble? If you had told them, 26 lives would have been saved,” he added.
Speaking on tensions with Pakistan, Kharge said Pakistan always wants to trouble India as they are weak, and they have tried to attack the country with China’s support.
“Our country will never tolerate such things. We are united on this. So, we extended support to the government in the fight against those who oppose our country. The country is important; then comes religion, caste, and other things,” he said.
He attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of politicising Operation Sindoor and is refusing to answers the questions being raised over security of tourists in Pahalgam.
When all parties met to discuss the country, Modi went to Bihar for poll campaigning, Kharge said. All-party meetings were called twice, but the PM did not attend them.
“If you had patriotism, why didn’t you attend that meeting after calling us. What is the reason. If we don’t go to such meetings, we are traitors, but he, the one who doesn’t attend, is a patriot. Just by making speeches, a country’s welfare is not possible; everyone has to be taken together,” he said.
Hitting out at the BJP for its Madhya Pradesh minister’s remarks on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Kharge said, “What kind of punishment should be given to such people? Comments are being made against a woman who is serving in the country’s armed forces.” Congress has sought the minister’s resignation, but Modi is still keeping him. “Remove the traitors in the BJP first and then speak…she (Sofiya Qureshi) was targeted as her name had Qureshi. The BJP is filled with such bad people. Modi, first remove them,” he said.
“Congress fights for the country, and the BJP alone has not taken any contract for it”, Kharge said, adding that former PMs, the late Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the country, and Mahatma Gandhi too sacrificed his life.
“You try to blame such a party and book cases against its leaders through agencies like the ED,” he said.
Referring to the Operation Sindoor, Kharge said: “Now, in these chhutput yuddha (small wars) that have taken place here and there, Pakistan has been downplaying India at all levels, particularly with tacit support from China.”
Pointing to the ED case involving Congress’s newspaper, National Herald, Kharge further said the notices are issued against his party leaders by the ED, Income Tax, and CBI with the aim of weakening them.
“But it is impossible. The Congress will never bow down to anyone. We have given everything for the country, but those who are in power have not fought for the country. They are running a maladministration in the country,” he charged.
Reacting to Mallkarjun Kharge’s remark on Operation Sindoor, BJP MP Sambit Patra called it nothing but cheating on the country and the bravery of the armed forces.
“Kharge ji is saying that Operation Sindoor is a small war. Are Rahul Gandhi and Kharge ji not able to understand that our Armed Forces entered Pakistan and struck nine terror sites there, and more than 100 terrorists were killed? After retaliation by Pakistan, their 11 airbases were destroyed, and today, Pakistan is crying in pain. And you are saying that Operation Sindoor was a small war. This is cheating the country and the bravery of the Armed Forces,” Patra said.
(With agency inputs)