Union Minister JP Nadda on Wednesday tore into the Opposition for its ‘appeasement’ of Pakistan, saying that the Congress-led UPA regime during 2004-14 did not take any action against the neighbouring country despite repeated terror attacks.
Nadda said those questioning the government on its response post Pahalgam must introspect on what they did after terror attacks when they were in government. Nadda, who is also Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President, was speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the ‘Special Discussion on India’s Strong, Successful and Decisive Operation Sindoor in Response to the Terrorist Attack in Pahalgam’
“The Home Minister of our sensitive government was in Kashmir at 5 pm on the day of the attack while the Prime Minister cut short his Saudi Arabia visit,” Nadda said.
The Health Minister said political leadership is very important, as it is the leadership that gives instructions to the Army.
Nadda said there is a difference between a responsible, sensitive, proactive government and a government which responds according to the needs of the hour, and a lukewarm, non-reactive government. “There is another type of government, one that is inactive, carries a lukewarm attitude, and is non-reactive and non-responsive. We need to assess this in two phases: the period from 2004 to 2014, and the period from 2014 to 2025,” Nadda said.
Speaking during the same debate in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused it of lacking the political will to take on Pakistan. He also mentioned Pakistani general Asim Munir, calling him ‘the mastermind’ behind the Pahalgam attack
“The aircraft were lost because the political leadership had tied the hands of the armed forces by deciding not to attack military and air defence infrastructure in Pakistan,” Gandhi said.
Operation Sindoor is being debated during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. The operation was launched in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The debate began in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, while the Lok Sabha took up the discussion on Monday.
“We will do injustice with this narrative if we look at the Pahalgam terror attack in isolation,” the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha said.
Detailing the response of the Congress-led UPA government during 2004-14 to terror attacks carried out at the time, Nadda said that “no action was taken” after Delhi, Varanasi, and Mumbai bomb blasts, where hundreds were killed and injured, which shows the insensitivity of the then government.
Trade, tourism and talks with Pakistan continued despite the terrorist attacks, Nadda said.
“You kept appeasing and never pressured Pakistan despite terrorism,” he said in an apparent reference to the Congress-led governments at the time.
They (Pakistan) kept killing us while we served them Biryani.
Moreover, India and Pakistan agreed on Kashmir-specific confidence-building measures, Nadda said, asserting that “they (Pakistan) kept killing us while we served them Biryani”.
(With agency inputs)
