The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday condemned Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge‘s claim – that the government ignored intel about a possible terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, three days before 26 people were killed in Pahalgam – as an attempt to “lower the morale” the armed forces.
BJP spokesperson Tuhin Sinha told NDTV the Congress had no proof of such a claim, and the party’s Jharkhand unit chief, Babulal Marandi, accused Mr Kharge of attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government “when the fight against terrorism and Pakistan is at a decisive stage”.
Former Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also spoke up, declaring
“On one hand, he claims to stand with the country in meetings, but on the other hand, he tries to weaken it. His criticism of the Prime Minister over the Pahalgam terror attack is unfortunate.”
The row began after Mr Kharge, speaking at a rally in Ranchi, said the government had admitted to an intelligence failure at last month’s all-party meeting. “If they accepted that was their mistake, then they should also take responsibility for the lives lost in the attack,” he said.
The Congress chief was referring to “media reports” – he did not specify the source – that the government was given intel three days before Lashkar terrorists descended on Baisaran Valley.
Mr Kharge claimed the PM cancelled his trip but neglected to ensure security for tourists. “The area (Baisaran is popular tourist destination) should have been secured…” he said.
#WATCH | Ranchi, Jharkhand: During Samvidhan bachao rally, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge says, ” There is intelligence failure, govt has accepted it and they will resolve it. If they knew this, why didn’t they do anything?…I got information that 3 days before the attack,… pic.twitter.com/xftdPJXgm5
— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2025
But the BJP’s Mr Sinha quickly shot down Mallikarjun Kharge’s claims. The Prime Minister’s Kashmir trip, he told NDTV, was not cancelled because of any ‘security threat’.
“There is no confirmation about this… there is no confirmed report about this. To suggest the PM’s tour was cancelled because of security reasons is still in the realm of speculation.”
Mr Sinha also pointed out the government – after the Pahalgam attack, which India has said planned and supported by the Pak deep state – held up its hand and accepted an intel failure.
“… the government accepted it in the all-party meeting. Whenever an incident like this takes place, whether the attack in Israel in October 2023 or 9/11 in United States or, for that matter, the assassination of Indira Gandhi… there is always an element of security lapse,” he said.
He pointed out also security agencies need to have “hundred per cent success” to prevent attacks but terrorists “need to succeed just once”, indicating the odds will, at some point, break in their favour.
“But for Mr Kharge to wake up at a time when the government is preparing for unprecedented action (the reference was to buzz of an Indian military response) only shows he is not above petty politics,” the BJP spokesperson raged, referring also to comments by other Congress leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai and Mr Kharge’s son, Priyank Kharge.
“I think, you know, Mr Kharge should have shown greater maturity and not raked up something already discussed in the all-party meeting… and which has already been factored in.”
With input from agencies
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