Shiv Sena asks Congress to set its house in order before seeking Parliament session

New Delhi: The Shiv Sena asked the Congress on Tuesday to set its own house in order before demanding a special session for Parliament, as the BJP ally slammed the opposition party over controversial views expressed by its several leaders following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Shiv Sena's parliamentary party chairman Shrikant Shinde took a swipe at the Congress, saying it should urgently call an All India Congress Committee (AICC) session to clarify its stand on the "deeply offensive" statements made by its senior leaders, including some questioning the accounts of the victims of Pahalgam terror attack and "echoing" the narrative of Pakistan.

The AICC comprises Congress delegates from across the country, including its senior-most functionaries.

Shinde named a host of Congress leaders including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his ministerial colleague R B Timmapur, Maharashtra leader Vijay Wadettiwar, and Jammu and Kashmir leaders Saifuddin Soz and Tariq Hameed Karra for making objectionable comments.

Both Soz and Karra suggested conciliation with Pakistan, while some others questioned the accounts of survivors that there was religious profiling of victims by the terrorists.

Shinde said, "Even Robert Vadra's comment suggesting that terrorists were reacting to the supposed mistreatment of Muslims in India crosses every line of national sensitivity and moral responsibility." He added, "The Congress party owes the nation answers. Does it stand with the victims of terror or with those making excuses for terrorists? This hypocrisy cannot be whitewashed."

Asserting that India deserves a strong and united political response to terror and not a fractured and appeasement-driven narrative, he said if the Congress cannot take a clear moral stand on this, it has no business demanding accountability from anyone else.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and demonstrate a collective resolve.