New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to act against the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack “now” without “wasting time”, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Wednesday said, calling for decisive action from the Centre.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi hours after meeting the family of Pahalgam attack victim Shubham Dwivedi in Kanpur, he also demanded “martyrs’ status” for those killed in the 22 April attack.
“Whoever did it, wherever they are, they have to pay for this. And they have to pay for it properly and not in some half-hearted way. They should remember they can’t do this with India. We have given a clear unanimous line that whatever happened is not acceptable,” Gandhi said.
The Rae Bareli MP reiterated that the Opposition would fully back any step taken by the Centre against perpetrators of the attack. “It is pretty clear who is responsible for this,” he said.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) Thursday adopted a resolution on the attack, blaming Pakistan for masterminding the massacre and saying Hindu tourists were deliberately targeted to inflame tensions nationwide.
Gandhi, along with Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge also attended an all-party meeting on the attack convened by the government and assured the Opposition stands shoulder to shoulder with the government at this hour of crisis.
However, a series of flippant remarks by some state Congress leaders, coupled with a social media post made by the party showing a picture with the caption “Gayab” (missing) portraying the PM as a leader absent during times of crisis, pushed the party on the backfoot.
It also prompted the party to issue an order on Tuesday, advising its leaders to not stray from the line drawn by the CWC resolution on Pahalgam and public pronouncements made by Gandhi and Kharge on the matter.
“There should be absolutely no doubt whatsoever at this most sensitive of times that the CWC resolution, the views expressed by Shri Mallikarjun Kharge and Shri Rahul Gandhi and the views of authorised AICC office-bearers ALONE represent the position of the Indian National Congress,” said the order.
The social media post was later deleted.
Gandhi’s remarks on Wednesday appeared aimed at seizing back the narrative as well. “The people who are responsible for this must pay a price. The Prime Minister has to take action. The Prime Minister must not, really, must not waste time…I am being very clear. The people who did this need to pay the price, and the Prime Minister has to act on it now, he should not dilly-dally, he should not be in a confused state,” the Congress MP said.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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