The Congress chief calls for an all-party meeting on national security
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU — The Pahalgam terror attack is a direct assault on the Indian State, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said and called for a befitting response to the dastardly act.
Kharge has also convened a Congress Working Committee meeting in the national capital on Thursday to discuss the situation.
Addressing a press conference along with senior leaders, including Pawan Khera, DK Shivakumar and Syed Naseer Hussain in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Kharge also extended full support and cooperation to the government. “We are all one in this fight,” he said.
The Congress chief also spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, JK PCC president and CLP leader on Tuesday night.
“This is not a time for partisan politics. It is a moment for collective resolve to ensure justice for those who lost their lives and for their grieving families, by bringing the perpetrators of this terror attack to justice,” the Congress president asserted.
“The dastardly killing of innocent, unsuspecting tourists by terrorists in Pahalgam yesterday has deeply hurt, shocked, and saddened us all,” he said. The Congress party unequivocally condemns this cowardly act of terror and those responsible for it in the strongest possible terms, he said.
Noting that this was a direct attack on the Indian State, Kharge said, the entire nation is in shock. “We must give a befitting response. We are all one and we will fight,” he said, urging the government to use all its strength to hunt down the terrorists.
Further urging the government to hold an all-party meeting, he said, “We expect the government to hold discussions with all political parties to address the challenge of terrorism in a spirit of consensus once necessary actions have been taken and full information has been obtained”. This is not politics and we don’t want politics in this situation, he added.
Maintaining that the Congress is committed to coordination and cooperation with the government to eliminate terrorism from its roots, the Congress chief said: “We have consistently confronted terrorism and separatism, and our top leadership has even sacrificed their lives in this fight”.
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha drew the attention of the government towards the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, about to begin in a few weeks. “The Yatris (pilgrims) should be protected well and security should be tightened,” he said.
