NEW DELHI: Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, requesting that a special session of both Houses of Parliament be convened to demonstrate a collective will to address the situation arising from the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
In his letter to the PM, Gandhi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the terror attack has outraged every Indian.
“At this critical time, India must show that we will always stand together against terrorism. The Opposition believes that a special session of both Houses of Parliament should be convened, where the representatives of the people can show their unity and determination. We request that such a special session be convened at the earliest,” he wrote.
Echoing the same, Kharge, who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, wrote in his letter, “At this moment, when unity and solidarity is essential, the Opposition believes that it is important to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament at the earliest.”
“This will be a powerful demonstration of our collective resolve and will to deal with the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam on innocent citizens on 22 April 2025. It is our fond hope that the session will be accordingly convened,” he added.
The letters come amid multiple opposition members, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha and CPI lawmaker P Sandosh Kumar, writing to the Union government urging a special session of Parliament to express the will of the nation and send a message of unity.
Kumar, a member in the Rajya Sabha, wrote in his letter to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, asserting that the special session would allow members across party lines to come together to mourn the loss and express the will of the nation. He said the attack not only caused immense sorrow to the victims' kin but also shook the “collective conscience of our nation.”
“In these difficult times, it is imperative that our Parliament, the supreme voice of the people, comes together in solidarity to express our profound grief, pay homage to the victims and reiterate our nation’s unyielding resolve against terrorism,” he said.
“In view of the magnitude of this tragedy, I urge you to consider convening a Special Session of Parliament at the earliest. Such a session would allow Members across party lines to come together in one voice to mourn the loss, to express the will of the nation and to send a clear and strong message that India remains united, resilient, and resolute against those who seek to harm us through acts of terror,” he said.
Kumar said Parliament should rise above political divides to embody the spirit and aspirations of the people.
Jha, in his letter addressed to the PM, wrote that the Parliament of India stands as the cornerstone of the republic and the highest forum for democratic expression.
“At this time of grief and testing, the Parliament must come together to pay heartfelt homage to the victims of the Pahalgam attack, honour their memory, and reaffirm our shared commitment to the ideals of unity, justice and peace,” he wrote.
Jha said it is essential that the government take the nation and its elected representatives into full confidence, adding that a shared national response, built through consultation and consensus, is the surest path to preserving unity and safeguarding our nation.
“It is in this spirit that I respectfully urge you to convene a Special Session of Parliament, dedicated exclusively to an open and principled discussion on the Pahalgam attack and its broader implications for the security, well-being, and aspirations of the people of India,” he added.
Earlier, on Sunday, Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal had requested political parties to urge the government to convene a special session of Parliament as early as possible in May.
At least 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed and several others were injured after terrorists opened fire on a popular meadow near Pahalgam in Kashmir on April 22. The terror attack was the deadliest incident in the region since the 2019 Pulwama strike.