Centre unable to arrest terrorists even after 100 days of Pahalgam attack, says Congress

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28-07-2025

Although nearly 100 days have elapsed since the Pahalgam terror attack, the Union government has not been able to arrest those responsible, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Opening the Opposition's response during a 16-hour debate on the terror attack and Operation Sindoor, the Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha added that Union Home Minister Amit Shah 'needs to take the responsibility' for the security lapse that led to the attack.
'The country wants to know and those who lost their families want to know how the government could not catch those terrorists,' said Gogoi. 'The country wants to know how these terrorists were given shelter and information. And 100 days later, the government has no answer.'
He added: 'You have drones, Pegasus, and security forces, and you could not catch. What kind of arrangement is this?'
Gogoi said that Shah 'cannot hide' behind Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
'If someone needs to take the responsibility, it is the Union home minister,' said the Congress leader.
The comment was in reference to remarks made by Sinha during an interview with The Times of India on July 14 that he takes 'full responsibility' for the Pahalgam attack. The lieutenant governor had said that the attack was 'undoubtedly a security failure'.
During his response to the debate, Gogoi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Pahalgam after the terror attack.
'He attended a government program and addressed a political rally in Bihar,' said the Congress MP. 'If someone went to Pahalgam, it was our leader Rahul Gandhi.'
He also claimed that although the attack was carried out by Pakistan, it was China that had orchestrated it.
'I would like to ask [Defence Minister] Rajnath Singh, why did you not talk of China in your speech when you claim that you will show red eyes to China?' said Gogoi.
Referring to United States President Donald Trump's claims on the ceasefire agreement between New Delhi and Islamabad amid Operation Sindoor, Gogoi said the Opposition demands to know the number of jets that were lost during the conflict.
On July 18, Trump claimed that five jets were shot down during the conflict between India and Pakistan. He also repeated his claim that Washington had helped settle the tensions between the two countries. New Delhi has rejected Trump's assertions about the role of the US in halting the firings.
Opening the 16-hour debate in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day, Rajnath Singh told Parliament that it was ' absolutely wrong ' to claim that India halted Operation Sindoor under any pressure.
India decided to pause its action against the terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as it had achieved its political and military objectives, he added.
Singh also said that while the Opposition had questioned the government's claims, they had not once asked how many Pakistani aircraft had been shot down. 'I believe these questions do not reflect national sentiments,' he said.
Tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22.
The Pakistan Army retaliated to Indian strikes by repeatedly shelling Indian villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. At least 22 Indian civilians and eight defence personnel were killed in the shelling.
India and Pakistan on May 10 reached an 'understanding' to halt firing following the four-day conflict.