PM Modi 'fooling people' with regard to Pahalgam terror strike: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "fooling people" with regard to the Pahalgam terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir.

The chief minister also pointed out that the prime minister did not attend the all-party meeting conveyed by the Centre, post the attack, but took part in an election rally in Bihar.

"The prime minister should have been there during the all-party meeting. He had gone to electioneering in Bihar. So what is important to him? He is putting topi (hat) on people (a euphemism for fooling people)," Siddaramaiah told reporters in Mysuru.

Responding to a query about India’s response to the terror attack, the chief minister said, "There is no need for war. We are not in favour of it. We should take stringent measures. That’s it. Security should be beefed up."

There should be peace in the country. People should be protected and the Centre should initiate security measures, he added.

To a question about the Union government's directives to states to send back Pakistani nationals, the CM said, "We will cooperate. We will send back the Pakistani nationals and inform the Centre about it. Right now, we do not have information about the number of Pakistanis residing in Karnataka." According to the CM, Pakistani nationals are to be found in major cities of the state, but most of them are in capital Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiah reiterated that the Pahalgam terror strike was the outcome of a "security lapse". Terrorists opened fire at a tourist location near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on the afternoon of 22 April, killing 26 people, mostly tourists.

Also on Saturday, Siddaramaiah's party colleague and Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera posted a video on X and wrote, "It is necessary to compare the actions and statements of each leader and party in the four days following the Pahalgam terror attack," referring to the Congress and the BJP.

In the video, Khera can be heard saying, "Both PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi cut short their trips abroad (to Saudi Arabia and the US, respectively) and came back home. After which Modi ji went off to an election meeting in Bihar, and Rahul ji left for Pahalgam the day after attending the all-party meet."

It was the Congress which had demanded an all-party meeting, which is has been a tradition following any major event of national importance. However, the prime minister chose not to attend.

In his tweet, Khera also wrote: "The Congress Party announced that, at this moment of national crisis, it stands firmly with the government. The BJP circulated a cartoon mocking a deceased victim and his grieving widow."

Khera pointed to conflicting statements by Union ministers Kiren Rijiju — who admitted to a governmental lapse in the incident — and Piyush Goyal, who questioned the patriotism of India's 140 crore citizens. "The Congress urged the government to deliver a strong and uncompromising response to Pakistan. The BJP astonishingly blamed the patriotism of ordinary Indians for the tragedy." Khera wrote.

With PTI inputs