- Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra read the names of 25 Indians killed in Pahalgam massacre
- The Pahalgam massacre on April 22 saw the killing of 26 civilians, including one Nepali tourist
- Ms Gandhi emphasised the victims were human beings and sons of the country, not political pawns
The Treasury and Opposition benches faced off in parliament this afternoon as Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra read out the names of the 25 Indians murdered in cold blood by terrorists in Pahalgam. The April 22 Pahalgam massacre had seen the killing of 26 civilians -- including 25 Indians and one Nepali tourist -- at the scenic Baisaran Valley.
"I want to read out the names of 25 Indians so that every MP sitting here realises that even they were humans like us and not pawns of political powers. Even they were sons of this country. We are all answerable to their families. They deserve to know the truth," said Ms Vadra, trying to corner the government during the special debate on Operation Sindoor.
As she read out the first name, the treasury benches shouted: "Hindu", seeking to highlight that the killings were carried out based on their religion. "Bharatiya," replied Ms Vadra, asserting they were Indians first.
This soon set off a face-off between the treasury and opposition benches as loud shouts of "Hindu" and "Indian" filled the Lok Sabha after every name that Ms Gandhi read out.
Launching a scathing attack on the Centre, Ms Vadra alleged that the government did not provide proper security to the tourists visiting Baisaran valley. "The ruling party spoke on various aspects but did not answer why and how the Pahalgam terror attack took place," she said.
Speaking during the ongoing debate on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha, the Congress leader quoted the widow of Shubham Dwivedi, who witnessed her husband being shot dead by terrorists in Pahalagam.
"The whole time when the people were being killed mercilessly, she did not see one security personnel" Ms Vadra said.
"When citizens were being killed one by one for an hour, there wasn't a single security personnel. I saw my world ending in front of my eyes; there was not a single security guard. Why was there no security there?" she said as quoted by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
She also highlighted how Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha accepted responsibility for the attack, but was not questioned further by anyone.
