"Not Time For Partisan Politics": Congress' Unity Message After J&K Attack

Sending out an important message of unity after the dastardly massacre in Pahalgam, the Congress on Wednesday said this is not a time for partisan politics and signalled it will stand with the government to bring the terrorists to justice. The BJP-led Union government has also indicated it will take the opposition into confidence and is considering calling an all-party meeting to brief them about the facts of the assault, in which 26 people, including a Navy officer, were killed. 

In a detailed post on X, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said his party is deeply hurt by the attack, describing it as a "direct assault on the unity and integrity of our nation". Mr Kharge said he had spoken to Home Minister Amit Shah and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday night and that the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party, will meet on Thursday morning to discuss the attack.

Emphasising the party's focus on ensuring justice for the victims, Mr Kharge wrote, "This is not a time for partisan politics. It is a moment for collective resolve to ensure justice for those who lost their lives and for their grieving families, by bringing the perpetrators of this terror attack to justice."

"We are all one," the Congress president stressed several times. 

"This is a direct attack on the Indian State. The entire nation is in shock. A Pakistani terrorist organisation has claimed responsibility. We must give a befitting response. We are all one and we will fight. There should not be claims without doing or without properly managing and finger-pointing," he asserted. 

Mr Kharge also called on the Centre to hold a meeting with all political parties to "take some advice" and urged it to take steps to ensure tourists feel safe ahead of the Amarnath Yatra.

"We urge the government to use all its strength to hunt down the terrorists. It has been almost 22 hours now... The government must do everything possible to maintain tourists' confidence in the security arrangements of Jammu and Kashmir. The Amarnath Yatra is about to begin in a few days, and every year, lakhs of tourists take part in it. Earlier there have been such attacks in the Yatra also. So the Yatris should be protected well and security should be tightened," he wrote.

Pointing to the importance of tourism for the Jammu and Kashmir economy, the Congress president said the government should help those dependent on it. "Govt of India should help them now. At this moment, we all are one. We will be one against the terrorists," he emphasised. 

Stressing that the Congress "does not want politics" in this situation, the Congress president added, "We also expect the government to hold discussions with all political parties to address the challenge of terrorism in a spirit of consensus once the necessary actions have been taken and full information has been obtained. They should call All-Party meeting and take some advice. This is not politics, and we don't want politics in this situation (sic)."

"The Congress Party is committed to coordination and cooperation with the government to eliminate terrorism from its roots. We have consistently confronted terrorism and separatism, and our top leadership has even sacrificed their lives in this fight," he asserted.

Government's Take

Senior sources in the Union government said the opposition will be taken into confidence about the attack and all parties will be briefed about the facts. 

Spelling out how this could be done, a source said a senior minister can be asked to speak to opposition leaders and inform them about all the facts of the Pahalgam attack. "The government is also considering calling an all-party meeting to brief the opposition," the source said, adding a decision on this will be taken after Home Minister Amit Shah returns to Delhi and the Cabinet Committee on Security meets. 

The Modi government had also called an all-party meeting after the Pulwama attack in February 2019, which was chaired by Rajnath Singh, who was the Home Minister at the time.