NEW DELHI: Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and BJP president JP Nadda on Wednesday said that previous Congress-led governments allegedly did not respond to terrorist attacks or take action against Pakistan, despite the neighbouring country supporting terrorism.
Criticising the principal opposition party, he further alleged that the preceding regimes failed to act due to a lack of political will and a tendency to indulge in appeasement.
He was speaking in the Upper House during the Special Discussion on India's Strong, Successful and Decisive Operation Sindoor in Response to the Terrorist Attack in Pahalgam.
Referring to several terror incidents that took place between 2004 and 2014 during the UPA rule, including the Mumbai attacks, Nadda said that the situation changed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office and that India had given a befitting reply to the neighbouring country.
“With Operation Sindoor, India created history and terrorist infrastructures across the border were destroyed within 22 minutes,” he said.
Nadda said that those questioning the government on its response post-Pahalgam must introspect on their own actions following terror attacks when they were in power.
“During the UPA regime, one terrorist attack followed another, but the Congress government’s response was limited to mere statements. Instead of eliminating terrorists, they were served biryani,” he said.
He added that Home Minister Amit Shah was in Kashmir at 5 pm on the day of the attack, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and returned.
“The role of political leadership is equally important, because the army receives its directions from political leadership. This is precisely why the difference between a responsible, sensitive, prompt, and active government and an inactive, lethargic, and unresponsive one becomes clearly visible… When they (Congress government) question what we did, they should first look within and ask themselves what sacrifices they made, and what steps they took to tackle terrorism,” Nadda said.
Detailing the alleged inaction of the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2014, Nadda said no action was taken after the Delhi, Varanasi, and Mumbai bomb blasts, which claimed hundreds of lives and left scores injured. He said this demonstrated the insensitivity of the then governments.
On the contrary, he said, the then governments discussed trade, tourism, and continued talks with Pakistan despite ongoing terrorist attacks.
“No attack has taken place since 2014 except in Jammu and Kashmir… What has changed since the abrogation of Article 370? The number of stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir, which stood at 2,654 during 2010–2014, has now come down to zero. For the last three years, there have been none. Earlier, the valley would remain shut for up to 132 days a year. Today, for the past three years, not a single day has seen a shutdown in the valley. If you still can’t see the change, what more should I say? Local terrorism has come to an end. The terrorists operating today are foreign infiltrators. This is not a minor issue, and I am saying this on record. The average lifespan of a terrorist now is just seven days,” said the Rajya Sabha MP.
He also informed the House that civilian deaths due to terror incidents have reduced by 70 percent; between 2004 and 2014, 1,770 deaths were reported, whereas during 2014–2025, 357 deaths occurred.
The deaths of security forces personnel during 2004–2014 stood at 1,060, as against 542 between 2014 and 2025, marking a 49 percent reduction, he added.
Meanwhile, the deaths of terrorists allegedly increased by 123 percent, Nadda said.
He also refuted the narrative that no country supported India after the Pahalgam terror attack, stating that there were 61 messages from Heads of State, Presidents, and Vice Presidents of different governments condemning the attack.