After condemning terror attack, many Congress Ministers blame Centre

Even as the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday unequivocally condemned the cowardly act of terror in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Cabinet colleagues have lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the terror activity.

Kharge and DKS stand

While AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and KPCC chief and Deputy Chief Minister D.K Shivakumar refrained from blaming the Centre, several Ministers in the State government hit out at Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah for the terror attack and the killing of 27 people.

Mr. Siddaramaiah held the Centre responsible for the terror attack and said it was on account of intelligence failure. “It’s a planned attack, and this is the failure of the Central government’s intelligence gathering process,” he said. He even recalled the terror attack which occurred in 2019 and surgical strike against Pakistan.

Along with condemning the terror attack, Ministers Priyank Kharge, Eshwar Khandre, and Dinesh Gundu Rao blamed the Centre for its failure to ensure security to innocent tourists. They did not, however, criticise the Jammu and Kashmir government led by Omar Abdullah.

Army posts cut

Mr. Priyank Kharge accused the Centre of ignoring critical security warnings in both the Pulwama and Pahalgam attacks. He claimed that the BJP-led Centre had cut over 1.8 lakh Army personnel posts since the pandemic. He took a jibe at Mr. Shah and said: “When the so-called Chanakya Home Minister is busy toppling governments, breaking parties, and rigging elections, this is what happens. Where is the intelligence?”

He asked in a post on X if “RSS aggression” is limited “only to Vijayadashami Utsav speeches and aggression on minorities and Dalits.” Mr. Priyank Kharge and Mr. Khandre demanded Mr. Shah’s resignation.

Mr. Dinesh Gundu Rao alleged that “the Modi government developed a false narrative that terrorism has declined after scrapping the Article 370 of the Constitution.” He stated that terror activities had continued in the valley, and said: “From the security point of view, the Centre should stop telling lies. It’s the responsibility of the Centre to convince the world about the role of Pakistan sponsored terror in Indian territory.”

Meanwhile, Chief Whip of the Opposition in the Legislative Council N. Ravi Kumar on Thursday alleged that the Congress leaders have exposed themselves of “double-talk and double-standards”.

In a statement, Mr. Ravi Kumar said on one hand “Mr. Kharge says his party will extend support to the Centre on the issue of terror attack. On the other hand, the State Ministers blame the Centre for the Pahalgam tragedy.”