26/11 attackers killed but Pahalgam terrorists at large as govt prepares dossier: Cong

The Congress on Wednesday said India received support from several countries following the 26/11 attacks of 2008 in Mumbai as the perpetrators were killed and one was arrested, but after the Pahalgam terror attack, the government is sending abroad and preparing a dossier while the terrorists remain at large.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP and general-secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh also hit out at the BJP for its criticism of Rahul Gandhi and said it should instead channel its energies to target Pakistan and China.

"The BJP must answer who gave a clean chit to Mohammad Ali Jinnah and praised him. Jaswant Singh and L.K. Advani had lauded him and called him a great leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken out the Lahore bus yatra and it was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had gone to Lahore to break bread with Nawaz Sharif," Ramesh told PTI in New Delhi.

He also recalled that it was former prime minister Morarji Desai who received Pakistan's highest civilian honour, 'Nishan-e-Pakistan'. The BJP must recall that Desai's cabinet had Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the external affairs minister, he added.

Hitting out at the government, Ramesh asked why the terrorists behind the 22 April had not been arrested even a month after the incident.

He pointed out that the terrorists who carried out the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks were killed and one was arrested, owing to which India received support from countries across the globe.

"Look at the current situation, we are preparing a dossier and sending diplomatic delegations abroad but the terrorists are at large. They must be arrested and interrogated, that is the real issue," he said.

#WATCH | On BJP MP Sambit Patra's statement 'Rahul Gandhi giving oxygen to Pakistan', Congress leader Jairam Ramesh says, "Terrorists who were involved in Pahalgam attack should be caught...China has given oxygen to Pakistan. It could not have fought this war without the help of… pic.twitter.com/Y1kizvEPxm

— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2025

Ramesh's remarks come amid a war of words between the Congress and the BJP over their leaders' statements on the India-Pakistan conflict. The BJP called Congress leader Rahul Gandhi "modern-age Mir Jafar" (a reference to the 1757 Battle of Plassey in which Mir Jafar sided with the British against Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah of Bengal and has since become a synonym for a traitor), and the Opposition party hit back, describing external affairs minister S. Jaishankar as a "new age Jaichand" (once again a historical reference dating back to the 12th-century king Prithviraj Chauhan and the man who betrayed him).

The two parties have traded barbs over their remarks on and also posted memes on social media, each suggesting that the other has betrayed the nation.

The Congress and Rahul Gandhi have attacked Jaishankar, alleging that he forewarned Pakistan about Operation Sindoor. It also asked how many planes India lost and how many terrorists escaped from their camps in Pakistan due to the minister's "warning".

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam attack, which claimed 26 lives and which India claimed was perpetrated by an affiliate of the Pakistan-backed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the early hours of 7 May, following which Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on 8, 9 and 10 May, as well as shelled civilian areas along the border, causing at least 15 deaths, including children. The Indian side responded strongly to the Pakistani actions.

The hostilities ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions following talks between the directors-general of military operations of both sides on 10 May.

With PTI inputs