New Delhi, July 29 (UNI) Congress today termed the Pahalgam terrorist attack in April this year as a major security lapse and demanded that the government be held accountable.
The opposition party called for the formation of a review committee, similar to the Kargil review panel, to uncover the truth behind the incident. Congress also stated that if the responsibility for the lapse lies with Home Minister Amit Shah, then he should resign.
Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge during the discussion in the Rajya Sabha on “India’s strong, successful, and decisive Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terrorist attack,” posed four questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He asked why, if India’s foreign policy excludes third-party mediation in disputes with Pakistan, a third party was involved in stopping military action against the neighbouring country.
He further questioned under what conditions the military operation was halted when Pakistan was on the backfoot. “Whether the United States intervened, and if the military action was stopped on America’s instructions or due to what is being called America’s “trade threat,” he asked.
Kharge also sought clarification from the Prime Minister and Defence Minister regarding comments made by senior military officials about Operation Sindoor and military actions against Pakistan. He urged Modi to break his silence on repeated claims by US President Donald Trump that he intervened to stop military action between India and Pakistan.
Kharge stated, “The announcement of the sudden ceasefire was not made by our Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, or Defence Minister but by US President Trump. The government is unwilling to accept this, but Trump has said this 29 times. He stopped the war using trade threats. Whose interests does this trade serve?”
He questioned why the Prime Minister remains silent on Trump’s claims. Kharge also pointed out Trump’s assertion that India shot down five Pakistani jets during the conflict, saying the nation wants to know the truth.
The Congress leader referred to Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim on April 7 that the terrorism network in Kashmir had been destroyed. He questioned how the Pahalgam terrorist attack happened on April 22 if that were true. He also raised questions about the Prime Minister’s cancellation of a scheduled Kashmir visit three days before the attack, asking if the government had prior intelligence of an attack.
Mentioning the Uri and Pathankot terrorist attacks in 2016, the Pulwama attack in 2019, and the Pahalgam attack in 2025, Kharge asked who is responsible for these. He demanded that the Home Minister must disclose who is accountable and why no lessons were learned from previous attacks. He urged the Home Minister to resign if he is responsible, or else the Prime Minister should take action.
Kharge noted that the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir had acknowledged the Pahalgam attack as a major security failure and took responsibility but said that accountability should lie with the Home Minister.
He questioned if the Lieutenant Governor is protecting the Home Minister by assuming responsibility. Kharge called for a thorough investigation to uncover the truth and hold those responsible accountable. He suggested that a review committee, modeled on the Kargil Review Committee formed after the Kargil war, should be established to investigate the attack.
Kharge also accused the government of politicising Operation Sindoor and raised questions about the foreign policy, saying no country openly stood with India during the crisis. He said that this foreign policy failed to safeguard India’s strategic interests, and even the United States did not openly condemn the attacks. Instead, America referred to Pakistan as its steadfast partner in the fight against terrorism.
The Opposition leader asked why India did not oppose Pakistan receiving financial aid packages from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank after the military operations ceased. He said, “Not even your friends supported you; instead, your adversaries received help.”
Kharge stated that from day one of the attack, the entire opposition stood with the government but was neither kept informed nor was its demand for a special session of Parliament accepted. The government gave no response to the opposition’s letter on this matter.
He also criticised that the Prime Minister did not attend the all-party meeting called by the government and is not even present in the House to listen to the ongoing debate.
“If you do not have the ability to listen, you are not fit to sit in that chair,” said Kharge even as he accused Modi of prioritising party promotion over the all-party meeting.
