New Delhi, Jul 29: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on the government over the “lapses” that led to the Pahalgam terror attack and said Home Minister Amit Shah talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and even her mother’s tears in Lok Sabha but did not answer “why the war” against Pakistan was halted.

Citing that after the Mumbai terror attacks, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister and the then Home Minister resigned, Priyanka Gandhi questioned why the Home Minister Amit Shah had not resigned or taken responsibility for the attack.

She also took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying leadership is not just about taking credit but also taking responsibility.

Participating in a special discussion in Lok Sabha on “India’s strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam”, Priyanka Gandhi said that if no aircraft had been downed during Operation Sindoor, then what is the problem in stating this in Parliament.

Was no government agency in the know that such a dastardly terror attack was going to happen, and a plot was being hatched in Pakistan, the Congress general secretary asked.

“It is a big failure of our government and intelligence agencies. Who will take responsibility for this? Has anyone resigned? They keep talking about the past, but who will answer about what is happening in present?” she said.

A combative Priyanka Gandhi also took on Shah for his remarks earlier in the day when he cited then Union minister Salman Khurshid’s remarks to claim that then Congress president Sonia Gandhi “cried for the Batla House terrorists”.

“My mother’s tears were talked about in the House. I want to answer this. My mother’s tears fell when her husband was martyred by terrorists, when she was only 44 years old. Today, I am standing in this House and talking about those 26 people (who were killed in Pahalgam) because I know their pain and feel it,” she said.

The MP from Wayanad in Kerala said Shah talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, even her mother’s tears, but did not answer “why the war was halted at a time when the enemy had nowhere to go”.

She said that the purpose of Operation Sindoor was to teach Pakistan a lesson, but perhaps this purpose remains unfulfilled, because “our diplomacy has failed”.

“The proof of this is that after Operation Sindoor, a Pakistani general, whose hands were stained with blood, was having lunch with the American president.

“If the purpose of Operation Sindoor was to eliminate terrorism, then Pakistan being chosen as the chairman of the United Nations’ Counter-Terrorism Committee has dealt a blow to this purpose. Will our prime minister take responsibility for this, do they have the courage?” she asked.

“This government always tries to evade questions…for this government, everything is politics, PR, propaganda, publicity. This government is engrossed in propaganda, which the public cannot see,” she said.

Hitting out at the prime minister, Priyanka Gandhi also said leadership is not just about taking credit, but responsibility needs to be taken.

“For the first time in the history of our country, a war was stopped abruptly, and the announcement of the decision was made by the US President. This is reflective of the irresponsibility of our prime minister,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

She said the home minister stated that Pakistan had no choice but to seek refuge, but the question is – why did you grant them refuge?

“Terrorists came to our country, killed people, and you are giving them refuge. Why have you not addressed this in any of your speeches?” she asked.

She slammed the government for failing to provide security to the 26 people killed in the Pahalgam attack and said that it has no shame for this.

Priyanka Gandhi also read out the names of 25 Indians who were killed in the attack, asserting that she was doing this so that every member of the House realises that “they too were human beings like us, not pawns in some political game”.

“They, too, were sons of this country. They too are martyrs of this country. We all have a responsibility towards their families; they have the right to know the truth,” she said.

As Priyanka Gandhi read out the first name, the treasury benches shouted: “Hindu”, to which she replied “Bharatiya”.

Priyanka Gandhi also quoted the wife of Shubham Dwivedi, who was killed in the Pahalgam attack, who said, “I saw my world end before my eyes, there was not a single security guard there. I can say that the government left us orphaned there.”

The question is, why was there no security, why wasn’t there even a single soldier? she asked.

“Did the government not know that over a thousand tourists visit there every day, one has to pass through a jungle route to reach there, and there wasn’t even any arrangement for medical facilities,” she said.

People went there trusting this government, and the government left them to the mercy of God, she said.

“I want to ask whose responsibility is the safety of the country’s citizens? Is it not the responsibility of this country’s prime minister? Is it not the responsibility of this country’s home minister? Is it not the responsibility of this country’s defence minister? Is it not the responsibility of this country’s NSA,” she asked.

The defence minister gave a one-hour speech in which he talked about many things, but one matter was overlooked — why and how 26 people were brazenly killed in Pahalgam, she said.

Lauding former prime minister and her grandmother, Indira Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi said the “great patriot”, through successful diplomacy, countered US President Nixon and divided Pakistan.

New Delhi, July 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that the Indian armed forces taught such a lesson to those behind the Pahalgam attack that the “masters of terrorism” are still losing their sleep over it.

Responding to the two-day debate on Pahalgam and Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, the prime minister said the attack was aimed at instigating riots in India, and the country’s unity has foiled the attempt.

“I stand here to make a case for India, and to show a mirror to those who do not understand this. I had said that we will teach the terrorists and their masters a befitting lesson which will be beyond their imagination.

“We have complete trust in the capabilities of our armed forces and they were given a free hand to respond. The armed forces taught them such a lesson that the masters of terrorism are still losing their sleep over it,” he said.

Modi noted that Pakistan had some inkling of Indian action and had started issuing nuclear threats, but could do nothing when terror targets were hit.

“It (Pahalgam attack) was a conspiracy to instigate riots in India and the country’s unity foiled that attempt. When I speak of this Parliament session being a Vijayotsav, it is of destroying the headquarters of terror,” he said.

New Delhi, July 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday affirmed in the Lok Sabha that no leader of any country asked India to stop Operation Sindoor but lamented that while the nation got support from the entire world, the Congress and its allies could not stand behind the valour of the nation’s soldiers.

Responding to the two-day debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor in the Lower House, he said no country in the world stopped India from taking action in its defence against terrorism.

The comments by the prime minister come amid repeated questions by the Opposition about why US President Donald Trump announced the “ceasefire” between India and Pakistan.

Modi told the House that on May 9th night, “US Vice President (JD Vance) tried to reach out to me 3-4 times, but I was busy with meetings with the armed forces”.

“When I returned the call, the US Vice President warned me of a big attack from Pakistan. I told him that if Pakistan attacks India, our attack would be much bigger as we will respond to bullets with cannons,” he said.

Modi asserted that no leader of any country asked India to stop the operation.

The prime minister said Pakistani airbases hit by India “are still in ICU” and the masterminds of the April 22 terror attack continue to have sleepless nights.

“No country in the world has stopped India from any action in its defence against terrorism. Only three countries spoke in favour of Pakistan at the UN.

“India got support from the entire world, but it is unfortunate that the Congress did not support the valour of our soldiers. Congress leaders targeted me for political gains, but their frivolous statements ended up discouraging our brave soldiers,” he said.

The prime minister noted that India called out Pakistan’s nuclear bluff and showed the world that “we will not bow down to nuclear blackmail”.

“Our operations range from Sindoor to Sindhu (Indus Waters Treaty)… Pakistan knows they have to pay a huge price for any misadventure. Terror attacks were launched earlier and the masterminds of attacks knew nothing would happen, but now they know India will come for them.”

PM Modi said drones and missiles made in India exposed the capabilities of Pakistani arms and ammunition during the military operation.

“The world saw the strength of self-reliant India during Operation Sindoor. We destroyed terror sites deep inside Pakistan within 22 minutes to avenge the April 22 Pahalgam attack,” he said.

Modi noted that Pakistan had some inkling of Indian action and had started issuing nuclear threats, but could do nothing when terror targets were hit.

“The Congress and its allies have unfortunately become spokespersons of Pakistani propaganda. India is becoming self-reliant, but Congress is now dependent on Pakistan for issues. The entire country is amazed to see Congress give a clean chit to Pakistan and sing the same tune as theirs.

PM Modi said, “It (Pahalgam attack) was a conspiracy to instigate riots in India and the country’s unity foiled that attempt. When I speak of this Parliament session being a Vijayotsav (celebration of victory), it is of destroying the headquarters of terror.”

“I stand here to make a case for India, and to show a mirror to those who do not understand this. I had said that we will teach the terrorists and their masters a befitting lesson which will be beyond their imagination.

“We have complete trust in the capabilities of our armed forces and they were given a free hand to respond. The armed forces taught them such a lesson that the masters of terrorism are still losing their sleep over it,” he added.

New Delhi, July 29: Launching a broadside at the Congress, Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said a blunder by the main opposition party led to the creation of Pakistan and claimed that Pak-occupied Kashmir was the legacy of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Participating in the special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, Shah also slammed successive Congress governments for failing to capitalize on opportunities to reclaim lost territories from Pakistan and wondered how the opposition party was targeting the Modi government for not launching an all-out war against Islamabad.

“All roots of terrorism lead back to Pakistan. And Pakistan itself is the result of the Congress party’s blunder. Had they not accepted the idea of partition, Pakistan would never have come into existence,” Shah said.

Shah’s remarks came after Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi sought to know from the government why it halted the military action against Pakistan and stopped short of reclaiming Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

“In 1948, our armed forces were at a decisive stage in Kashmir. Sardar Patel kept saying no, but (Jawaharlal) Nehru announced a unilateral ceasefire. If Pak-occupied Kashmir exists today, it is due to this unilateral ceasefire announced by Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru is responsible for this,” the home minister said.

He also claimed that Nehru ceded the geographical and strategic advantage India enjoyed, and offered 80 per cent of the Indus waters to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960.

Shah said Congress had missed another crucial opportunity of reclaiming PoK in 1971, after India’s victory in the Bangladesh Liberation War.

“The creation of Bangladesh is something that India will always be proud of. But what happened in the glare of that victory? We had 93,000 prisoners of war – that was 42 per cent of the Pakistani army – and 15,000 square kilometres of territory in our possession. Yet in Shimla, an agreement was signed, and they forgot to even ask for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Not just that – even the captured land was returned,” he said.

Shah also held Nehru responsible for India not securing a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.

“It was Nehru’s decision that cost us the UN Security Council seat,” Shah said, quoting from books written by the first prime minister.

Shah said the Congress had opposed the Prevention of Terrorism Act which was enacted in 2002 by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government to curb terrorism.

“I want to ask today who was Congress trying to protect by blocking POTA? The moment Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi’s government came to power, POTA was repealed in the first cabinet meeting. The country deserves to know – who benefitted from the Congress repealing POTA,” the home minister asked.

Shah said the Opposition was asking the government why the attackers of Pahalgam were allowed to flee. “Well, the security forces have answered on my behalf. The Army had gunned them down,” he said.

The home minister said a number of terrorists had fled the country when the Congress was in power.

“Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar fled in 1986, when the Rajiv Gandhi government was in power. Syed Salahuddin, Tiger Memon, Anis Ibrahim Kaskar fled in 1993, when the Congress government was in power. Riyaz Bhatkal fled in 2007, when the Congress government was in power. Iqbal Bhatkal fled in 2010, then it was their government,” Shah said.

“Now, let Rahul Gandhi answer why these people fled the country,” he said.

The home minister referred to the Batla House encounter of 2008, and recalled how Congress leader Salman Khurshid was shedding tears for the dead terrorists.

“I thought something serious had happened. He said Sonia Gandhi cried for the Batla House terrorists. If she had to cry, she should’ve cried for martyr Mohan Sharma instead,” Shah said.

As Congress members rose in protest, Shah said he has downloaded a video of Khurshid on his mobile phone and was ready to play it in the House if required.

New Delhi, July 29: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday described separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference as an “outfit of terrorist organisations” and made it clear that the Modi government will never engage with it for any dialogue.

Participating in a special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, Shah also said that there was a time when leaders of the Hurriyat Conference got VIP treatment and the government used to have dialogue with it.

“There used to be a red carpet for the Hurriyat. Representatives of the Manmohan Singh government used to have talks with them. We banned all the constituents of the Hurriyat and everyone is now behind bars. We do not want to talk to Hurriyat.

“I wish to reiterate the Narendra Modi government’s policy — Hurriyat is an outfit of terror organisations. We will not speak to them. We will speak to the youth of the valley,” he said.

The Hurriyat, formed in 1993, is an amalgam of several Jammu and Kashmir-based separatist organisations. It has been considered as a pro-Pakistan group for its views, activities and political statements over the years.

Talking about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Shah said from 2004 to 2014, there were 7,217 terrorist incidents in Kashmir and from 2014 to 2025, these incidents have come down by 70 per cent to 2,150.

“From 2004 to 2014, 1,770 civilians died. This reduced by 80 per cent to 357 from 2014 to 2025. From 2004 to 2014, the number of deaths of security personnel was 1,060. This decreased to 542 in our time. And there was a 123 per cent increase in the deaths of terrorists,” he said.

The home minister said between 2005 and 2011, there were 27 terrorist attacks but what did the Congress government do, they just sent dossiers to Pakistan.

“Terrorists are now sent from Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir as there are no local terrorists in Kashmir. Scrapping of Article 370 has destroyed terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.