Pahalgam massacre: Why security forces could not reach the spot where tourists and terrorists reached, says Trinamool leader Saayoni Ghosh

Kolkata, July 28 (IANS) Actress-turned politician and Trinamool Congress member from Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, Saayoni Ghosh, on Tuesday, asked on the floor of the Parliament on why security personnel were unable to reach in time at the spot at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir where 26 tourist were killed by four terrorists in April this year.

"My question is why the security personnel could not reach the spot in time, where the tourists and terrorists could reach easily. Now, if I raise this question, I might be branded as an anti-national. The trend now is that anyone is branded as 'nationalist' only if that person echoes what the Prime Minister Narendra Modi says. The same person is branded as 'anti-national' as soon as he starts raising questions," Ghosh said while participating in a debate on Operation Sindoor on the floor of the Parliament during the Monsoon session.

She also asked why the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Chief Tapan Kumar Deka was not removed from his post and instead was offered an extension, despite it being clear that the Pahalgam massacre was a result of a major intelligence failure and security lapse.

"You should have removed him and given a message to the countrymen that there is no compromise on intelligence failure in the security system of the country," Ghosh added.

She also asked the contradictory figures on the number of terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir in "Operation Mahadev".

"Yesterday, when we started the discussions, you quoted the figure at one. Today, you are quoting the figure at three. I wonder if the discussions had started two months back, then we might have seen these results then only," Ghosh added.

She also raised the question of why India missed the opportunity of occupying Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) during Operation Sindoor, when the Union government had been claiming for a long time that the PoK land was the bonafide land of India.

Speaking on the occasion, she also said that despite being in an advantageous position during Operation Sindoor, the Indian government succumbed to external pressure and interference in the internal matters of the country.

India agreed to go for a ceasefire just after three days and that was announced by the US President Donald Trump, Ghosh added.

--IANS

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