NEW DELHI: As tensions rose between India and Pakistan following the massacre of tourists in Pahalgam, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish the killers, India’s opposition Congress party on Thursday warned the BJP against sowing communal discord by exploiting frayed emotions for political gain.

At an all-party meeting in the absence of Mr Modi, the Congress also asked Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to probe the security failure under their watch.

Mr Modi, who was speaking in Bihar’s Madhubani district, made his first public comments on the Pahalgam killings. He promised to “identify, trace and punish every terrorist and their backers”.

At least 26 persons, mostly Indian tourists, were killed in the scenic Kashmiri meadows on Wednesday.

The Congress party’s working committee raised the issue of security at a meeting attended by Sonia Gandhi and both her children. The statement said: “Pahalgam is known to be a heavily guarded area, secured by a three-tier security arrangement. It is imperative that a comprehensive analysis is conducted into the intelligence failures and security lapses that enabled such an attack in a union territory — an area directly under the purview of the union home ministry.

“These questions must be raised in the larger public interest. This is the only way justice can truly be seen to be served for the families whose lives have been so brutally devastated.”

Modi speaks

Mr Modi started his speech by calling on the audience to pay their respects to those killed in Pahalgam. He switched to English when he said: “Friends, today from the soil of Bihar, I say to the whole world India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist and their backers. We will pursue them to the ends of the earth. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism. Terrorism will not go unpunished.”

Mr Modi’s speech was to address Panchayati Raj (local bodies) institutions and Gram Sabhas (village councils) across the country where he launched several projects in the politically crucial state that goes to the polls in October.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2025