Thiruvananthapuram, May 4 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday began exerting pressure on the Centre to "teach Pakistan a lesson" over the Pahalgam terror attack, stating that "the country is waiting for action" from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal, while addressing the Samvidhan Bachao rally organised by the party here, said that 15 days have passed since the terror attack in Kashmir and questioned why the Centre has not taken any action so far.
"Why has there been no action other than your threats through microphones and public meetings? The country is waiting for action from you, Mr Modi," Venugopal said.
"The country wants to see your actions, not just challenges through words. The Congress and the INDIA alliance are with you in teaching Pakistan a lesson," he said.
Taking a dig at Modi, the Alappuzha MP said, "You have a 54-inch chest -- now is the time to display it, and we are with you."
He also referred to the stand taken by the Congress leadership during the All-Party Meeting and by the party in its Working Committee meeting, extending firm support to the government to take strong action against Pakistan on the matter.
He said the opposition has many questions to ask the government regarding the circumstances that led to the terror attack, and these will be raised at an appropriate time. "You will have to answer point by point," he added.
Recalling then Gujarat Chief Minister Modi’s statement following the Mumbai terror attack in 2008--when he blamed the Congress-led Centre for not taking action against Pakistan--the Congress leader said, "You put the Congress in the dock, and the Home Minister had to resign."
"Who propagated that Kashmir is safe and invited people to visit the Valley? Who claimed that terrorism has been suppressed? The Indian government. We have not yet begun asking these questions," Venugopal said, adding that the Congress government under Indira Gandhi had a history of giving a befitting reply to Pakistan, even in the face of threats from the United States.
On Friday, the Congress urged the Centre to act with firmness in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack to penalise Pakistan for its continued export of terror, and pressed for time-bound accountability into the "serious lapses" in security and intelligence in one of the most heavily-guarded regions of the country.
The opposition party made the assertions in a resolution passed by the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, which was chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and general secretaries Jairam Ramesh, Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi, among others.