Nehru-Congress-bashing again and again; Modi concludes his 100-minute speech

Priyanka says: “All of us supported Operation Sindoor. If it happens again, we will stand in support again. We are proud of our Forces... But it is the PM who wants the credit for Sindoor. We get medals in Olympics; the PM takes credit. Please take credit but remember that only taking credit isn't enough, you have to take responsibility too.

“For the first time in history, a war was prevented before it could happen because a ceasefire was called and that ceasefire announcement didn't come from our PM but from the President of the US. The Home Minister says Pakistan was left with no option but to ask for sharan (shelter) but why did you give them sharan if the enemy had no other option left?

“You talk about my family; you talk about my mother’s tears. I want to reply to that. My mother’s tears were shed when her husband was killed by terrorists. The crown you (PM) wear today isn’t one of gold, it is of thorns. Just taking credit isn’t your job, taking responsibility is.”

Priyanka says, “Two weeks before Pahalgam, the home minister had said J&K is terror-free. Three months after the Pahalgam attack, the J&K LG just casually mentions there was intelligence failure, and till date, no action has been taken, no accountability is fixed.

“The TRF has conducted 25 terror attacks since 2020 when it came into existence. From 2020 onwards, the TRF has killed 41 Armed Forces personnel, 27 civilians and injured 54 civilians but this government branded it a terror outfit not in 2020, 2021 or 2022, but only in 2023. It took you three years to even call it a terror outfit. Is this not a failure? You knew there is this outfit, you knew this outfit was killing people, and yet you were not keeping track of them? Has the IB chief resigned? Has the Home Minister resigned? Forget resigning, has he even taken responsibility?

“Don't blame us. Every time you talk about my entire family. For the past 11 years, you have been in power. At least take responsibility for these 11 years. When Gaurav Gogoi was speaking, the defence minister was nodding, perhaps in quiet agreement but the home minister was smiling.

“You talk of Mumbai attacks. All terrorists were killed in that attack there and then, except for one who was hanged in 2012. The chief minister of Maharashtra resigned. The home minister resigned. Has anyone resigned after Pahalgam? Under your watch, under Rajnath Singh as defence minister, Amit Shah as home minister, entire Manipur was burnt, but did any of you take responsibility? You still hold on to your posts.”

Priyanka says, “From 1948, when the first Pakistani attacks happened, till date, the Indian Armed Forces have protected our sovereignty and integrity, our borders, and we are grateful and proud of our Forces.

“The defence minister and home minister spoke about a lot of things. They also gave us history lessons. But they didn't tell us one thing — how did the attack in Pahalgam happen, why did it happen?

“What were these people doing in Baisaran? PM told the country, BJP leaders said go to Kashmir, buy land. Shubham Dwivedi of Kanpur, who got married 6 months earlier, decided to visit Kashmir. On April 22, in Baisaran Valley, tourists came like any other day... Shubham and his wife were at a stall when 4 terrorists came and gunned him down. For the next one hour, the terrorists roamed around and killed people, 26 people.

“Shubham’s wife ran towards the jungle to save her life. She told me that through this entire period of one hour, she did not see a single member of the security personnel. She told me she saw her world crash in front of her eyes. She told me the government left us orphaned there; there were no security personnel.

“Did the government not know that thousands of tourists go to Baisaran? Did the government not know that the terrain is difficult, there is no first aid or hospital in that area? This government left those people at God’s mercy. Is the responsibility of those people not of the PM of this country, the HM, the defence minister, the NSA?”

Akhilesh says: “We need to know under whose pressure this government agreed to a ceasefire. How even after a ceasefire, (Pakistani) drones kept coming in (to Indian territory). Who is responsible for intelligence failures? How much has our Indian territory come down since BJP came to power in 2014? What is our preparation against China? The government should answer all these questions.”

“These terrorists who were killed in Operation Mahadev, who is using it for political gain? Why did this encounter happen only yesterday? We all are happy that terrorists were gunned down but we have to see who is gaining politically from these incidents,” says Akhilesh.

“Before Pahalgam, Pulwama happened. A vehicle with tonnes of RDX came, which route did it come from, how did it come? Were you able to find out till date?... You act when you want to make political gains. You used us also — SP, Congress, others — for your political gain (in the all-party delegations).

“When you tell us about the terror hubs that were destroyed, we also want to know how many of our best aircraft, which were brought in with nimbu-mirchi (lemon and chili, to mark the procurement of something auspicious), were used in this operation,” says Akhilesh in a dig at Rajnath Singh’s famous photograph with the first Rafale India received.

Singh, as defence minister, had performed a puja to receive the Rafales and placed a string of lemons and chillies on the jet.