Ranchi, May 6 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cancelled his Kashmir visit after "receiving an intelligence report three days before" the Pahalgam terror attack last month.
Noting that during an all-party meeting, the Centre accepted "intelligence failure" in the Pahalgam carnage, Kharge said the union government should be held accountable for "not reinforcing" security arrangements in Kashmir to protect people, even after such inputs.
Responding to Kharge's allegation, the BJP said the Congress president could not have made a more irresponsible comment at a time of rising tensions with Pakistan.
Addressing a 'Samvidhan Bachao' rally in Ranchi, Kharge claimed he "got information that three days before the attack, an intelligence report was sent to Modi ji, and that is why Modi ji cancelled his visit to Kashmir".
When an intelligence report said that it would not be proper for the PM to visit there for security reasons, Modi should have informed the intelligence, local police, and security forces to protect people, he said.
The Congress leader claimed: "When you (PM) got the information, you cancelled your programme but did not send more forces to protect tourists there."
Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Kharge claimed, "India is faced with a huge crisis. The Centre accepted the intelligence failure during the all-party meeting. You (PM Modi) admitted that there was an intelligence flaw. When the Centre knew about the possible terror strike, why did it not put in place a system to protect people?"
He asked, "Shouldn't the Centre be accountable for the loss of lives in the Pahalgam attack when it accepted the intelligence failure?"
Kharge asserted that the Congress is with the Centre for any action against Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror strike, as the country is supreme and beyond party, religion and caste.
"We fight for India, poor people and tribals", but the BJP and the PM believed "only in 'jumla' (rhetoric)", the Congress leader claimed.
Kharge also alleged that Modi's policy is to "close public sector institutions, like HEC in Ranchi, and snatch jobs from SC, ST, OBC communities".
There were 30 lakh job vacancies, but the government was silent on it, he claimed.
Kharge accused the Centre of unleashing agencies like the ED against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who made "efforts to sustain a newspaper" like the National Herald, which played a "crucial role in India's Independence struggle".
"Unlike any Jana Sangh, RSS or BJP leader, several Congress leaders, including former PM Jawaharlal Nehru, were imprisoned. Now, these people are teaching us the lesson of patriotism," he said.
Kharge alleged that agencies like ED were "misused to scare opposition leaders" and said that only two persons were penalised in around 200 cases.
Alleging that the prime minister was "instrumental" in sending a tribal CM (Hemant Soren) behind bars, Kharge said Modi should not indulge in practices that frighten tribal leaders.
"Those who write or speak well are put in jail. If anyone suppressed freedom of expression or the press, he is Modi and (Home Minister Amit) Shah. They want to instil fear in all," Kharge alleged.
He also voiced the need for a separate Sarna religious code for tribals.
"We will fight for a separate column for Sarna religion followers in the upcoming census. I will also urge Hemant Soren to put pressure on the Centre for Sarna religious code in the census," he said.
Kharge alleged that governors in opposition-ruled states are sitting on Bills passed by assemblies, and governments in such states want to hike the reservation cap.
The Congress chief also said he has written to the PM, requesting him to carry out the caste census at the earliest after holding a dialogue with all political parties.
"In a letter to the PM, I have urged him to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservation by a constitutional amendment and immediately implement Article 15(5) providing for reservations for SCs, STs and OBCs in institutions," he said.
Hailing the "growing support" for the caste-based census, Kharge said it was a long-standing demand of the Congress.
“Rahul Gandhi’s call for a caste census had been dismissed as divisive by the PM, but now the public is for it. This is the Congress party and its workers' victory. The government bends if someone is there to bend it,” he said, clarifying that his remarks were not intended as a personal attack but a reflection of the people’s verdict.
He urged Congress workers to strengthen the organisation for economic and social justice.
BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Kharge has joined the "brigade" of his party leaders making controversial remarks on the issue of national security, instead of controlling them.
"What kind of comments is he making! On the one hand, he says in the (all-party) meeting that they are standing with the country, on the other, he is trying to weaken the country," Prasad told reporters in Delhi.
Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi alleged that Kharge's remark was intended to "lower the morale of security forces".
He claimed that Congress was trying to create confusion among people by spreading rumours.
"Does it not amount to treason?" he said.