Rahul Sought Parliament Session For Good Message To Go Outside: Kharge On All-Party Meet
The opposition expressed support for the government and the armed forces at the all-party meeting on Operation Sindoor and Rahul Gandhi demanded a Parliament session for giving a "good message" to the world and boosting the confidence of the people, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday.
Speaking with reporters after attending the meeting, Kharge also expressed disappointment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend it.
"We wanted the PM to participate and briefly talk about the action against terrorism. We salute the jawans who have shown bravery.
"We wanted him to come and brief us but he did not. He had not even attended the last meeting," Kharge said.
The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said the government stated in the all-party meeting that attacks have been carried out only at those places in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) where there are terrorist camps and terrorists were being given shelter.
Kharge said all parties of the INDIA bloc and other parties as well spoke in one voice and said "you move ahead and we are with you in the decisions you take and are standing with the Army".
The prime minister has said he has given full authority to the Army to take whatever action it wants, Kharge said.
"Defence Minister (Rajnath Singh) said this is a sensitive time and detailed questions that are defence secrets are not to be asked in the interest of the country," he said.
Those present at the meeting also raised the issue of security of the people living in the border areas, he said.
The kin of those who have lost their lives in shelling in Jammu and Kashmir should be taken care of, Kharge added.
"The government assured us that they would take all kinds of steps," he said.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, demanded that a Parliament session be called so that a good message goes to the world and the confidence of the people is boosted, Kharge said.
"If a session is called, MPs can put forward their views and enhance the confidence of the people," Kharge said, adding the government gave no assurance to that.
Earlier, Kharge said the government stated that there are many confidential things related to defence which they cannot reveal.
"In this hour of crisis, we all are with the government and will remain with the government in the interest of the country," he said.
Gandhi told reporters, "We gave full support and what Kharge ji said is right -- there are certain things that shouldn't be discussed. Everyone simply gave their support." The government briefed an all-party meeting on Thursday on the success of Operation Sindoor and its aftermath, as top government functionaries and opposition leaders met for a second time in a fortnight amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, J P Nadda and Nirmala Sitharaman represented the government while Gandhi and Kharge from the Congress, Sandip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress and DMK's T R Baalu were among the leading opposition figures at the meeting.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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