Parliament monsoon session: Congress to seek PM's reply on Pahalgam attack

New Delhi: The top Congress leadership decided on Tuesday to raise issues, such as the Pahalgam terror attack, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and rising atrocities against women in the country, during the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, starting July 21.

The opposition party has also decided to raise farmers' problems, the issues of rising unemployment, safety and security of the country and the Ahmedabad air crash during the Monsoon session.

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi had convened a meeting of the party's parliamentary strategy group at her 10, Janpath residence here on Tuesday evening.

Top party leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari and others, such as Jairam Ramesh, K Suresh and Manickam Tagore, participated in the meeting.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Tiwari said 26 people were killed in Pahalgam and the INDIA opposition bloc has been demanding a special session of Parliament for a discussion on the April 22 terror attack.

"We want to know where are those terrorists who killed 26 people and widowed our sisters in Pahalgam? Why no action has been taken against them yet?" he asked.

Noting that demanding answers from the government on the Pahalgam attack is their "top priority", Tiwari alleged that the incident happened as there was no security deployed in the area and there was no quick response team.

He added that when the entire country was demanding action against those behind the attack and when the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor against terror camps in Pakistan, a sudden ceasefire was announced.

"Surely, when awards are to be taken then it is the prime minister. When 26 precious lives have been lost, the prime minister will have to reply on this too," Tiwari said, when asked if the Congress will seek the prime minister's reply.

US President Donald Trump has claimed 22 times that he got the ceasefire done, the Congress leader said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not countered Trump's claims even once.

"The suspenseful silence of Prime Minister Modi on the claims of President Trump 22 times is deafening," he noted.

"A question that is bothering everyone is, where are those dreaded terrorists? Has the earth engulfed them or the sky? Who is responsible for it?" Tiwari asked.

"Our concern is, why was there an intelligence and security failure in Pahalgam, who is responsible and who is morally responsible and where are those terrorists.

"We are hopeful that the government will allow a discussion on the issues raised by us and on the manner in which the bravery of our brave soldiers was throttled by the untimely ceasefire. We will surely demand answers on why Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir was left unguarded," the Congress leader said.

He alleged that earlier, democracy was "murdered" in Haryana and Maharashtra and said what is emerging from Bihar now is a matter of concern.

"The SIR of the electoral rolls in Bihar is a threat to democracy," Tiwari said, adding that a discussion will be sought on the issue.

Raising the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, where he said the poll verdict was against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Tiwari asked, "When will you give full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir?" He also alleged that there is a flood of atrocities against women and that their safety is not ensured, be it Bihar, Odisha or Uttar Pradesh, as cases of rape, abduction and killing have become common.

"We will finalise the issues after discussions with the other INDIA bloc parties and the meeting with them will be held soon," he noted.

The Congress is also likely to discuss the issue of the impeachment notice against Justice Yashwant Varma with other political parties and take a stand in the matter soon.

Tiwari also said the manner in which "step-motherly" treatment is meted out to non-BJP-ruled states will be raised in Parliament.

The government has announced that the Monsoon session of Parliament will begin on July 21 and continue till August 21, a week longer than planned earlier, signalling a heavy legislative agenda.

The Congress wants the SIR to be scrapped, alleging that it is "unconstitutional" and aimed at disenfranchising around two crore voters in Bihar.

The INDIA bloc parties have been demanding a debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor -- the strike on terror sites in Pakistan-controlled areas by the Indian armed forces in response to the April 22 massacre by terrorists in Kashmir.

The issue of US tariffs against India is also likely to be taken up during the discussions, besides the state of the economy, rising prices and unemployment.

The issue of impeachment of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court is also likely to come up as a notice for moving a motion for his removal is also pending before the Rajya Sabha chairman.