E-Paper
'Pakistan se baat hoti hai?': Amit Shah jibes at Oppn, takes on Akhilesh, mentions Chidambaram too
On Congress leader P Chidambaram's statement, Amit Shah says, “They (Congress) were asking us where terrorists came from and who was responsible…”
Home minister Amit Shah took several swipes at the Opposition at being interjected during his speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, in which he announced that all three terrorists involved the April 22 Pahalgam attack were killed in Operation Mahadev in Jammu and Kashmir.
It started after Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party got up and said, “Un ke aaqa Pakistan mein hain (The terrorists' handlers are in Pakistan).”
Shah shot back: “Kaun… aapki Pakistan se baat hoti hai kya (Who is that; do you speak with Pakistan)?”
Akhilesh stood up in agitation, and was followed by other Opposition MPs — causing a brief din.
Also read | All 3 Pahalgam attackers killed in Operation Mahadev, home minister Amit Shah announces in Lok Sabha
Shah resumed within seconds and declared: “I will tell who their handlers are. I have their names too, their exact location, and the timing down to the last second.” He added that he had hoped to see happiness across party lines after his announcement, "but this is strange, as if ink has been thrown on [Opposition's] faces”.
Shah then addressed the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister: “Akhilesh ji, hear my complete speech; you will get your answers.”
Akhilesh said the Opposition is not with the terrorists but with the government.
Also read | Voter IDs, chocolate wrappers were from Pakistan: Amit Shah on proof of Pahalgam terrorists' origin
Shah was not done with the jibes: “Don't feel sad about the fact that these terrorists belonged to a certain religion.” Lashkar-e-Taiba is an Islamist terror group.
The Opposition benches saw another uproar over this comment.
Shah smirked and said, “Akhilesh, yaar, sit down.”
He then said six forensic experts had validated the report identifying the bullets and thus the three men's involvement. He later declared he had proofs that the men were Pakistanis, such as their voter ID numbers.
‘Chidambaram wanted proof too’
On Pakistan's involvement, Shah also referred to Congress leader P Chidambaram's statement in a recent interview in which he'd said the government must provide evidence that the killers were from the neighbouring country.
Also read | Chidambaram's ‘evidence’ comment on Pahalgam terror attack gets angry BJP response
"They (Congress) were asking us where the terrorists came from and who was responsible for it. Of course, it is our responsibility as we are in power. Yesterday, former Home Minister Chidambaram ji raised the question, ‘what is the proof that the terrorists came from Pakistan?’ I want to ask him, what he will get by saving Pakistan. When he says this, it means they are giving a clean chit to Pakistan," Shah said in the Lok Sabha.
Chidambaram, who is a member of the Rajya Sabha, is scheduled to take part in the debate there. He had already reacted to “trolls” over his statement that the terrorists “could be homegrown”.
