'No police permission at Baisaran meadow': Rahul Gandhi cornered govt over 'security lapse' at all-party meet

The Indian government reportedly admitted during an all-party meeting on Thursday that security lapses led to the horrific terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam which claimed the lives of 26 people, mostly tourists from various states across India. 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed the meeting that the Baisaran meadow was opened to tourists without police permission, The Hindu reported citing Opposition sources. More than 1,000 people had visited there two days. 

The Opposition has fully backed the Modi-led government for "any action" in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said after attending an all-party meeting, but raised concerns over lapses. 

"All political parties have uniformly condemned it and the Opposition has given full support to the government to take any action," Gandhi added. 

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh detailed the decisions taken by the government following the terror attack. 

Singh and Home Ministry officials, along with a Special Director in the Intelligence Bureau, briefed the all-party meeting on how the incident took place and where the lapses occurred. 

Rijiju mentioned that the meadow was away from the main road and was accessible only by foot or pony. He further added that it takes two to two-and-a-half hours to reach there. 

As per source-based media reports, the IB official told the meeting that the meadow opened to tourists on April 20 without informing security officials. 

The terrorists weren't carrying any electronic devices, as per media reports.  

Though they have given full support for further action, the Opposition questioned the government during the all-party meeting. As per reports, Rahul Gandhi asked, "Are you saying that you are admitting security lapses as security personnel were absent? Are you saying that you (security agencies) did not know that thousands of tourists are reaching the locality? Are you saying that you did not know that the locality was open?" 

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar)’s Supriya Sule said there that a travel agent in Pune knew that the Baisaran valley was open and he was sending tourists to the locality. "If a travel agent can know about this, why can’t our security agencies know?" Sule asked. 

The nation is also asking the questions, that the Opposition asked, but Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has already made one thing clear that "this is not a time for partisan politics". He wrote in an X post, "It is a moment for collective resolve to ensure justice for those who lost their lives and for their grieving families, by bringing the perpetrators of this terror attack to justice." 

My remarks on the cowardly #PahalgamTerroristAttack —

1. The dastardly killing of innocent, unsuspecting tourists by terrorists in Pahalgam yesterday around 2:30 PM has deeply hurt, shocked, and saddened us all. The Congress Party unequivocally condemns this cowardly act of…