Congress' Gaurav Gogoi tears into govt, asks ‘after Uri, Pahalgam, why was war not our intention?'
"Rajnath Singh is talking about ghus ke marenge (will hit in your country); this was the same thing they said when Pulwama happened. Rajnath Singh says we dismantled terror infrastructure after Pulwama, Uri. Then how did the terrorists come in Baisaran?" Gogoi asked.
'Even today Rajnath Singh is saying Operation Sindoor has only paused and not stopped. He says if Pakistan attacks again, we will respond. On one hand, they say terror infrastructure has been dismantled and on the other hand, they say terror attack can happen again,' he added.
'Rajnath Singh says the government's intention was not to start a war. I ask, why? Why was war not our intention?' the Congress MP asked.
Raising more questions over the government's response to the recurring terrorist attacks in India, Gogoi said, 'Rajnath Singh ji gave a lot of information, but as the Defence Minister, he never mentioned how terrorists from Pakistan reached Pahalgam and killed 26 people. It is our duty to ask these questions in the interest of the nation.'
Hitting out the government even further, Gogoi even raised questions on why the five terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack had not been caught yet.
'It has been 100 days since the Pahalgam attack took place, but this government has not been able to catch those five terrorists. Today, you have dones, Pegasus, satellites, CRPF, BSF, CISF, and the Defence Minister went there a few days ago, but still you are not able to catch them,' Gogoi said.
Gogoi recounted the Pahalgam attack on April 22, when terrorists opened indiscriminate fire at tourists in the Baisaran valley, killing 26 civilians.
'It took almost one hour for an ambulance to reach Baisaran. The Army came on foot. I cannot forget those visuals when a mother and her daughter saw an Indian soldier; they started crying. They thought the terrorist wearing the uniform of a soldier who killed people in Baisaran was waiting for them. That soldier had to say that he was an Indian, and you were safe... This is the kind of terror the people had there. Rajnath Ji, you should have spoken one word on this terror..' the Congress MP added.
India paused its action – Operation Sindoor – against terror infrastructure in Pakistan because the predicted political and military objectives were achieved, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the Parliament on Monday.
Defending Operation Sindoor, the defence minister said, 'Saying that this operation was paused under any pressure is baseless and absolutely wrong... In my political life, I have always tried not to speak lies ever...'
Rajnath Singh further said that Pakistan admitted defeat and offered to cease hostilities after India launched its Operation Sindoor on May 10, under which the Indian Air Force had struck hard at multiple airfields in Pakistan.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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