New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s reading of the names of the 25 Indian victims of the Pahalgam terror attack in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday led to a shouting match, with the treasury benches emphasising their identities as “Hindu” and the opposition MPs replying with a loud “Bharatiya”.
Priyanka Gandhi read out the names of the 25 Indians who were killed in the attack, asserting that she was doing this so that every member of the House realises that “they too were human beings like us, not pawns in some political game”.
“They, too, were sons of this country. They, too, are martyrs of this country. All of us have a responsibility towards our families; they have the right to know the truth,” she said.
As she read out the first name, the treasury benches shouted: “Hindu”, seeking to highlight that the killings were carried out based on their religion. “Bharatiya,” replied Ms Vadra, asserting they were Indians first.
This soon set off a face-off between the treasury and opposition benches as loud shouts of “Hindu” and “Indian” filled the Lok Sabha after every name that Ms Gandhi read out.
Launching a scathing attack on the Centre, Ms Vadra alleged that the government did not provide proper security to the tourists visiting Baisaran valley. “The ruling party spoke on various aspects but did not answer why and how the Pahalgam terror attack took place,” she said.
Speaking during the ongoing debate on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha, the Congress leader quoted the widow of Shubham Dwivedi, who witnessed her husband being shot dead by terrorists in Pahalagam.
“The whole time when the people were being killed mercilessly, she did not see one security personnel” Ms Vadra said.
“When citizens were being killed one by one for an hour, there wasn’t a single security personnel. I saw my world ending in front of my eyes; there was not a single security guard. Why was there no security there?” she said as quoted by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
She also highlighted how Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha accepted responsibility for the attack, but was not questioned further by anyone.
