The Congress Working Committee (CWC) held a meeting on Thursday to discuss "all aspects of the serious attack" in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, party leader Pawan Khera said. Multiple top leaders of the party, including Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, party MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh and other Congress leaders are present in the meeting.
Khera, while saying that the government accepted Congress' demand for an all party meeting, told reporters that he hopes Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the meeting, looking at the seriousness of the matter. "Accepting Congress's demand to call an all-party meeting, the government has called an all-party meeting today. We hope that Prime Minister Modi will attend this meeting, considering the seriousness of the matter. This is a direct attack on the unity, security, and integrity of this country," he said. Khera added that the party will be discussing all aspects of the attack at the CWC meeting.
"All aspects of this serious attack will be discussed in the CWC meeting. The important thing today is that the whole country is expecting justice for these unarmed tourists," he said. Earlier today, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hoped for the Centre to "build a collective resolve" and "take all political parties into confidence" The party held the meeting following the Central government calling an all-party meet at 6 PM today in Parliament premises.
In a post on social media platform on Thursday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "On the night of April 22nd itself the Indian National Congress had asked for an All-Party meeting to discuss the fallout of the brutal Pahalgam terror attack and the targeted killings of so many tourists. Considering the extreme seriousness of the issue and the mood of the nation, the Indian National Congress expects the PM to chair the All-Party meeting scheduled for 6PM today and take all political parties into confidence and build a collective resolve" According to the sources, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the meeting. From one of the NDA allies, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde will represent the party at the meeting to discuss the attack in which 26 people were killed. The attack, carried out by terrorists at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on Tuesday, is one of the deadliest in the Valley since the 2019 Pulwama strike in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. Earlier, Shah visited the affected area of Baisaran meadow where the attack took place. The Union Minister first took an aerial stock of the region as he arrived at the site by helicopter, descending onto the meadow now bearing the scars of violence.