Must teach Pakistan a lesson, says Congress Working Committee

The Congress on Friday urged the government to take decisive action against terrorism in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam attack and teach Pakistan a lesson for its “continued export of terror” into India.

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In a resolution adopted at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the party said, “This is the time to display collective will as a nation to teach Pakistan a lesson and curb terrorism decisively. The perpetrators must face the consequences.” The Congress urged the government to “act with firmness, strategic clarity and international coordination to isolate and penalise Pakistan”.

This is the second resolution the CWC has adopted on the Pahalgam massacre, the first being on April 24. The latest resolution follows the BJP's offensive against a section of Congress leaders, including Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, who made out-of-line comments on the attack, resulting in an advisory to party leaders.

The advisory asked all Congress leaders to toe the line the CWC took on Pahalgam wherein it fully backed the government. Today again, the CWC said this was not the time for politics, but “a moment that called for unity, strength and national resolve.”

“We must rise above partisan divides and send out an unambiguous message that India stands together,” the resolution said. It also demanded time-bound accountability into the “serious lapses” in security and intelligence in Kashmir, saying the region was one of the most heavily guarded area in the country.

In the second resolution passed on the caste census announced by the government this week, the CWC demanded “clear timelines”. “The exercise must not be delayed. All political parties must be taken into confidence. Parliament must immediately have a debate on the issue. The government must immediately allocate funds and announce a clear timeline for every stage of the census,” it said.

The party also demanded the removal of “arbitrary 50 per cent ceiling” on reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs. It also called for urgent implementation of Article 15(5) to allow reservation for OBCs, Dalits and Adivasis in private educational institutions.