HOSAPETE: Going on the offensive against the Centre from his home base, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge has alleged a major security lapse behind the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
Speaking at the ‘Samarpane Sankalpa’ rally held on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka, Kharge claimed that 26 innocent lives could have been saved if the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Government had ensured proper security through local police, the Border Security Force, or the Army.
Kharge reiterated his earlier statement that Prime Minister Modi had cancelled his planned visit to Jammu and Kashmir on April 17, after receiving intelligence inputs. He questioned why similar warnings were not communicated to tourists, which, he said, could have prevented the tragic loss of life.
The Congress president also played down the recent skirmishes between India and Pakistan by calling it “chut-put”. Kharge said Pakistan is a weak country and has no strength of its own. “Pakistan used China-made arms and ammunition to attack India, but failed miserably. Its efforts to disturb the unity of the country also did not succeed,” he said.
Criticising the Centre for allegedly politicising the issue of sending all-party delegations abroad to explain India’s position following the attack, Kharge said that the Congress supported the initiative in the national interest, not for political gain. “For the Congress, the country comes first. But for the BJP, Modi comes first, and the country later,” he claimed during his address in the rally.
Kharge also accused the PM of neglecting national responsibility by skipping an all-party meeting on the terror attack to attend an election rally in Bihar. “If Opposition leaders miss a meeting, the BJP leaders brand them anti-national. Modi should realise that the nation cannot progress through speeches alone,” he added.
Taking aim at Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah for his controversial comment on Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Kharge demanded that the prime minister act against “anti-national” elements within his own party.
“Despite nationwide outrage over the minister’s insensitive remarks, the BJP has neither sought his resignation nor taken any disciplinary action,” Kharge said.
Later in the day, Kharge wrote on X, taking apart Modi’s foreign policy. “In the last 11 years, Prime Minister Modi has made 151 foreign trips and visited 72 countries. Out of these, he has visited the US 10 times. Yet, our country stands alone under the Modi government’s foreign policy. Is it the Prime Minister’s job to visit foreign countries and only pose for photos? The IMF has provided a bailout loan of $1.4 billion to Pakistan. But nobody supported India’s stance.”
Kharge also questioned the timing of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. “A ceasefire was suddenly declared, while our brave Armed Forces were conducting operations against terrorists. The US President has insulted our country by saying, “I brokered” the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and repeated this, not less than 7 times,” he wrote in the post on X.
He added that while the entire country was united in the tough action against terrorists, Modi is trying to cover up the issue by not providing clarity to the people of the country regarding US President Donald Trump’s statements, so far.