'Bharatiya...Hindus': Priyanka Gandhi vs Opposition over identity of Pahalgam attack victims in Parliament

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the government did not provide proper security to the tourists visiting Baisaran valley.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday locked horns with several MPs in Lok Sabha over the identity of the Pahalgam terror attack victims, countering repeated interruptions during day two of the discussion on the April 22 attack.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday countered repeated interruptions by several MPs during day two of the discussion on the April 22 Pahalgam attack.

During her speech, she said she would read out the names of the 25 victims of the attack.

However, as she began reading them aloud, she was repeatedly interrupted by MPs shouting “Hindu”. She countered each interjection with the word “Bhartiya”. “I wish to read out the names of those 25 Indians in this House, so that every member sitting here realises that they too were human beings like us, not mere pawns in some political game. They too were sons of this nation. They too are martyrs of this country. We all have a responsibility towards their families; they have the right to know the truth,” she said.

She allleged that the government did not provide proper security to the tourists visiting Baisaran meadow in Jammu and Kashmir. 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" she said. "When citizens were being killed one by one for an hour, there wasn't 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?" Shubham's widow, Ashanya said as quoted by Priyanka Gandhi.
"I saw my world finishing before my eyes, not one security guard was there. I can see that the government left us like orphans there."

Amid brief slogans raised by Opposition MPs shouting "shame shame," the Wayanad MP asked "who is responsible for the (Pahalgam) attack?" "I want to ask who is responsible for this? Who is responsible for the security of the people? Is the Prime Minister not responsible? Is the Home minister or Defence Minister not responsible? Is NIA not responsible," she said.

Continuing her attack, she said that just two weeks before Union Home Minister visited Jammu and Kashmir to review its security, and said that "victory has been achieved" against terrorism. "Just two weeks before the attack, our Home Minister went to Kashmir, to see and the security arrangements in the region and he said that victory has been achieved over terrorism," the Congress leader said.