Rahul Gandhi only national-level leader to visit Pahalgam, Poonch: Pawan Khera

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera on Saturday lauded Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi for visiting Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district and meeting families affected by recent cross-border shelling from Pakistan.

“When the terrorist attack occurred in Pahalgam, Rahul Gandhi was the only national leader who went there. He visited the hospitals, met with various civil society groups, and enquired about the well-being of the affected citizens. Now again in Poonch, where innocent civilians lost their lives due to shelling, for no fault of theirs, Rahul Gandhi visited them to express solidarity and understand their pain,” Pawan Khera told IANS.

Poonch sector witnessed heightened artillery and mortar shelling following India's Operation Sindoor, a series of precision strikes conducted on May 7 targeting nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. These strikes were carried out in retaliation for the deadly April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which left several civilians dead.

Khera further emphasised that political leaders across party lines should take a cue from LoP Rahul Gandhi’s actions.

"Whether it is Manipur, Poonch, or Pahalgam — wherever citizens face a crisis, political leadership should step in to offer support and help heal their wounds," he said.

Reacting to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent remarks in Berlin, where he stated that India has zero tolerance for terrorism and would “never give in to nuclear blackmail”, Khera questioned the effectiveness of India's foreign policy under the current government.

“What Jaishankar says at international forums hardly matters if we cannot get key global powers to acknowledge that Pakistan continues to shelter terrorists. He talks tough here, but remains silent in front of the US and China. He says China has a bigger economy, so we can’t do much — then why hold the position if you are afraid to confront them?” Khera asked.

“Pakistan’s government and military operate hand-in-glove with terror outfits. There is no distinction between the two. The real challenge is whether our foreign policy can get the international community to admit this openly. That would be a diplomatic victory,” he added.

Khera further reacted to recent allegations surrounding donations made to the National Herald by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and accusations against Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, allegedly made by the Enforcement Directorate.

“They will try to keep the media occupied with these distractions. But we are not going to be diverted. This is a tactic to deflect attention whenever we raise questions in the interest of the nation. We remain focused on the real issues,” he told IANS.

Commenting on the Congress party's stand during Operation Sindoor, Khera pointed out that the party had put all political programmes on hold in support of the nation's security efforts.

“During Operation Sindoor, we stood shoulder to shoulder with the government. Despite this, the BJP mocked us, showing that they prioritise politics over national unity. Now that the operation is over, they have returned to their usual cheap politics,” he said.

“This is the time to salute the valour of our armed forces and to also hold the government accountable — and that is exactly what we are doing.”

Khera also took a swipe at the ongoing 10th Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting, held under the theme 'Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047.'

“Why talk about 2047 now? Every few years, they come up with new slogans. In 2022, they promised to double farmers’ income — not only did they fail, but the economic distress worsened. The reality is that no one takes the BJP government seriously anymore. These meetings are nothing more than tokenism,” he concluded.

--IANS

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