New Delhi : Saluting the brave armed forces for fighting the Pathankot terror attack and paying homage to the seven martyrs, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has expressed serious concern over the internal security situation in the country. A statement issued on her behalf said: “She hoped that Union Government is seized of the serious internal security situation amidst emanating intelligence reports of more terrorist modules and is taking all necessary steps to neutralize the terror threats besides ensuring adequate security of citizens and strategic assets.”
But the party spokespersons were in full attack mode with former union minister Manish Tewari referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Mian Modi” and demanding that India should immediately call off foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan. At the party”s regular media briefing, spokesperson Ajay Maken said that even with such a serious situation at the Pathankot air base, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) did not meet once to take stock of the situation over last 3 days. “Even as the neutralization of terrorists at Pathankot airbase continued with our security forces fighting valiantly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was propagating yoga at gatherings in Karnataka, defence minister Manohar Parrikar was preoccupied in his home state
of Goa as always and a usually out of loop home minister Rajnath Singh, first declared the operation to flush out terrorists successful through a tweet at 7 pm on 2nd January, 2016 and said that 5 terrorists have been killed. After being contradicted by his Home Secretary, he shockingly deleted his own tweet,” said Maken. The Congress spokesperson recalled that when the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack took place, Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, had rushed to the site and even held a press conference. He played a video from that press conference and said: “Why can”t the same prime minister now take control of the situation in Pathankot instead of shying away from defining Pakistani terrorists? Why is the Prime Minister giving a new description of terrorists as ”enemies of humanity” instead of describing them as ”Pakistani terrorists”?”
He charged that the government has also not stated clearly as to why was Pathankot terrorist attack not stopped despite specific intelligence input as also the same terrorist module having committed two separate incidents of abducting and killing before finally attacking the Pathankot airbase.“Despite specific input having been provided by none less than the abducted SP of Police Punjab, how did terrorists manage to enter our frontline Airforce base and wreak havoc? A mere internal enquiry ordered by the defence minister cannot be a substitute for such a serious lapse of security strategy and protecting the key defence assets,” he added.
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