Accusing the BJP of trying to extract benefit from Operation Sindoor by carrying out “Tiranga rallies”, the Congress’ Jammu and Kashmir chief Tariq Hameed Karra on Sunday said his party was preparing a set of questions, especially those related to a “sudden ceasefire at the behest of a third country”, for the Centre to answer.
He also demanded a central package for the rehabilitation of border residents affected by Pakistani shelling, martyr status for those killed during the latest conflict as well as the Pahalgam attack victims, and construction of underground bunkers to cover the vulnerable population based on the recent trend of cross-border shelling.
“Our leadership, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, have time and again said we should not politicise this (Operation Sindoor) and have to be with the nation and support all actions of the central government in the interest of the nation. Therefore, we did not raise any questions about it,” Karra told reporters.
However, the Congress is compiling a set of questions related to the latest military standoff as the country’s people want to know certain things, including about the “abrupt ceasefire announced by a third country”, he said.
“We are very soon raising these questions, maybe within a couple of days. We are holding Jai Hind sabhas and Jai Hind yatras… The BJP tried to politicise the recent events as it is not willing to answer the public and is trying to hijack the initiative of the forces,” he added.
Karra said the nation would like to ask the BJP if Operation Sindoor was conducted by the armed forces or the ruling party. “They (BJP leaders) are taking out Tiranga rallies in the name of Operation Sindoor and that is highly condemnable. This is a direct insult to the valour of our forces.” Reiterating the Congress’ demand for an all-party meeting and a special session of Parliament, he said the BJP was deliberately avoiding it because it had no answers.
“The (country’s) 140 crore population has the right to know what happened in Pahalgam and who was at fault. The abrupt ceasefire announcement by a third country is against our country’s stated position and contrary to our foreign policy,” he said.
Karra said the nation’s concern was whether India had accepted third-party intervention.
“What is that understanding? The nation needs to know, whether it was an understanding or an agreement. If it was an agreement, then what was it? And we have never heard the word ‘understanding’ in the context of war. What is that understanding? The nation needs to know that,” he asserted.
Karra, who led senior party leaders to different shelling-hit areas across the Jammu region, demanded martyr status for all those killed in the Pakistani offensive and the terror attack in Pahalgam.
He said they witnessed large-scale destruction in the border villages during the visits to Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and Samba and added there was a common demand for the construction of more underground bunkers.
The border residents also complained that the old bunkers were not usable and had turned into dens of snakes and scorpions, Karra said.
He sought an interim relief for the affected population to allow them to rebuild their lives.
“A central package, along with a special recruitment drive, should be announced for the rehabilitation of the border residents,” he said.
Karra also congratulated the country on the anniversary of becoming a nuclear power.
India, under the leadership of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, successfully conducted its first nuclear test on this day that became a symbol of the country’s “scientific capability and strong political leadership”, he said. (Agencies)
