New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav in the Lok Sabha Tuesday questioned the timing of ‘Operation Mahadev’, which, according to the central government, has neutralised the three perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Speaking during the Lok Sabha debate, Akhilesh Yadav questioned not only the timing of the terrorists’ encounter—coinciding with the parliamentary discussion on Operation Sindoor—but also the timing of the ceasefire announcement earlier this year, putting the brakes on India’s military operation against Pakistan. Besides, he criticised the Modi government for its intelligence failure that made the Pahalgam terror attack possible.
On 22 April this year, terrorists attacked tourists in Pahalgam’s Baisaran Valley, killing 26 people. Security forces, including the Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force, and the Jammu & Kashmir Police, have killed the three terrorists involved in that attack, Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared in the Lok Sabha Tuesday.
“We are all happy … terrorists killed, and we support it. But who is reaping the political gain after all? They are asking why I am not thanking them for Operation Mahadev? When it came to giving support, all the political parties of the country were with you,” Akhilesh Yadav said in the Lok Sabha during the debate on Operation Sindoor.
However, he questioned, “… why did the encounter happen only yesterday?”
Akhilesh Yadav also raised concerns about the investigations into terror attacks, asking, “If you know so much about technology, why has the vehicle carrying RDX in Pulwama not been caught, to date? Even today, if the BJP wants, it can find the route that the vehicle took to arrive at Pulwama … Satellite images are available … Why are you not able to muster the courage?”
Moreover, the SP chief questioned the timing of the ceasefire, saying, “What was the reason for the government to declare a ceasefire?”
He further said that everyone had hoped that the central government itself would declare the ceasefire. “But since they have a deep friendship, the government asked its ‘friend’ [US President Donald Trump] to declare a ceasefire.”
Recalling how every tourist was asking why there was no one in Pahalgam to protect them from the terrorists, Akhilesh Yadav said, “The biggest question is who will take responsibility for the security lapse? The government that had claimed there would be no terrorist incident in Jammu and Kashmir post-abrogation of Article 370 and that tourism would spike?”
He also said the central government should name the countries which stood behind Pakistan against India.
During the debate, the SP chief also thanked the Army for its bravery.
“We are proud of our Army. The Army started its operation, attacking the terrorist bases of Pakistan, and also destroyed the Pakistan air base. Our Army could have taught Pakistan a lesson for good. Then, Pakistan would never have gathered the courage to do this [plan terror attacks on Indian soil] in the future”.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: How Op Mahadev unfolded: A day-by-day account of how the net closed in on Pahalgam terrorists