'Went to Bihar to deliver election speeches': Kharge takes potshot at PM Modi for skipping all-party meet on Pahalgam terror attack

NEW DELHI: Amid the fallout of the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said it was "not appropriate" for PM Modi to skip the all-party meeting.
Kharge condemned PM Modi's absence and said that leaders of the opposition were present in the meeting, which was supposed to decide the upcoming actions to be taken following the Pahalgam incident that killed 26.
Speaking to reporters, Kharge said, “The Prime Minister had convened an all-party meeting, we all attended it. Leaders of the opposition in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were also present. Once the government calls for a meeting, the Prime Minister, representing the government, must be present. His absence was not appropriate."
Kharge said that the Prime Minister's acts were "not right," claiming that he went to Bihar to deliver election speeches but didn't come to Delhi to attend the meeting. Kharge also demanded accountability and responsibility, citing a security lapse and police failure.
Kharge said: "Such a serious incident took place, around 26 people lost their lives and many others were injured. The Prime Minister’s attitude is not right. He went to Bihar to deliver election speeches, but couldn’t come to Delhi, this shows he is not taking the matter seriously. Instead of delivering speeches in English and Hindi elsewhere, he should have come here and given a proper explanation about what exactly happened? Why did it happen? Who is responsible? Was it a security lapse, an intelligence lapse, an IB lapse, an informant failure, or a police failure? We need to be informed about whose failure it was, but he did not even come."

Kharge pointed out that in dire times, there is no place for politics. He called for national unity to ensure the safety and security of the country. Kharge also reiterated that the Congress party supports the government's decisions on the ongoing issue.
"As a result, the meeting was conducted under the leadership of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The central government itself has admitted that this was a security lapse. That’s why a meeting was called, said Amit Shah. We told Amit Shah that this should be taken up as a challenge. Everything should have been properly arranged. It is because proper arrangements were not made, and the situation turned out this way. At that time, Amit Shah assured us that such incidents will not happen in the future. Despite a three-tier security system, they were unable to protect so many people. Still, from the perspective of the nation and its unity, we told them let us all come together and ensure the country’s protection. We also conveyed that we support the government's decision," the Congress president said.