Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Congress blames Centre for ‘serious security lapse’

Amarnath Yatra terror attack: Security personnel stand guard after the terror attack on pilgrims on Monday. Express photo

Just a day after the Amarnath Yatra terror attack in which at least seven pilgrims died while 19 others were injured, Congress has accused the Central government of security lapse which led to the incident. Speaking to news agency ANI, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “If there were intelligence inputs on 25th June that Amarnath Yatra would be attacked, why no preventive measures were taken?” Surjewala further went on to blame the Central government. “This is a matter of serious security lapse on the part of Government and security forces,” the Congress leader said.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Monday also pointed fingers at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to take responsibility for the security lapse. In a series of tweets, Gandhi wrote, “This is a grave & unacceptable security lapse. The PM needs to accept responsibility and never allow it to happen again.” The Congress vice-president’s remarks came after a group of militants opened fire at a bus carrying pilgrims at Botengo village near Anantnag district on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in South Kashmir at around 8:10 pm on Monday night.

The Congress leader further went on to express his condolences over the loss of lives and said India will not be intimidated by such attacks. “I share the pain and anguish of families who lost loved ones in the terror attack on innocent Amarnath Yatris today. India will never be intimidated by these terrorist cowards,” Gandhi wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday called for an emergency high-level meeting at his residence to discuss the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Several top officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Home secretary-designate Rajiv Gauba, IB director, RAW Chief, etc came to attend the meeting. As per news agency PTI, the meeting was called to discuss the security of Amarnath pilgrims and to have a discussion on how such attacks can be prevented in the future.