Kharge's big claim on Pahalgam attack: 'PM got intel, cancelled J&K trip'
Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Centre why it didn't deploy more security in Pahalgam if it had the intelligence report.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled his Jammu and Kashmir trip last month because he received an intelligence report three days before the Pahalgam terror attack. Addressing a rally in Jharkhand, Kharge further said the BJP-led Central government had admitted that the attack was the result of an intelligence failure.
Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, died when terrorists opened fire at a meadow near Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22. India has announced several punitive measures against Pakistan, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, which governed the flow of the Indus River and its tributaries.
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"There is an intelligence failure; the government has accepted it, and they will resolve it. If they knew this, why didn't they do anything? I got information that three days before the attack, an intelligence report was sent to PM Modi, and therefore, he cancelled his programme to visit Kashmir. I also read this in a newspaper," he was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.
Also read: Had intel about attack on tourists but in Srinagar, around April 19: Officials
He reiterated that the Congress stands with the government for any action against Pakistan.
"Congress stands with the government for any action against Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack. The country is supreme," he said.
He asked the Centre why it didn't deploy more security in Pahalgam if it had the intelligence report, reported PTI.
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"Shouldn't the Centre be accountable for loss of lives in the Pahalgam attack when it accepted intelligence failure," he asked.
HT reported on May 4 that the intelligence bureau (IB) and other agencies alerted local security officers in Jammu and Kashmir about the possibility of an attack targeting tourists, but around the time of the Prime Minister’s scheduled visit to the union territory (UT) on April 19, and in Srinagar. But PM Modi’s visit was cancelled on account of bad weather, and when the terrorists struck, it was in Pahalgam, 90 km away from Srinagar, and on April 22.
Amid India's crippling diplomatic and economic measures against Pakistan, Islamabad has claimed that New Delhi's military strike is imminent. On Sunday, Rajnath Singh said that as the defence minister, it is his duty to give a befitting reply to those who dared to attack India.
