Home Minister Rajnath Singh links Gurdaspur attack to Pakistan

NEW DELHI: Home minister Rajnath Singh had to read out his statement on the terror attack in Gurdaspur amid a din in the Rajya Sabha as Congress members trooped into the well of the House and shouted slogans against PM Modi.

The slanging match between Congress and the BJP-led government over the Gurdaspur attack and the hanging of 1993 blast convict Yakub Memon dominated the discourse on Thursday. When the Rajya Sabha met for the day vice-president Hamid Ansari led the House in condoling the death of those killed in the Gurdaspur terror attack and then adjourned it till 2 pm as former president APJ Abdul Kalam’s funeral was on in Rameshwaram.

When the House met again, Singh began his statement on the att a c k b u t Congress MPs trooped into the Well of the House and shouted slogans, “56 inch ki chaati, hai, hai” and “Narendra Modi, hai, hai”, against Modi. Singh completed his two-page statement amid the din and the House was adjourned for the day.

“The security forces in the border are alert but the difficult terrain coupled with recent heavy rains, resulting in excess flow in the rivers and canals along the border, could have been a factor, in this particular group sneaking into Punjab,” Singh said.

Leader of the House Arun Jaitley charged the Congress with being “irresponsible” on the issue of national security and not allowing the home minister to make a statement on the Gurdaspur attack. He alleged Congress was indulging in petty politics and had presented the country as a “divided” house by not allowing a discussion on the cross-border terror incident.

Miffed at the manner the opposition shouted slogans against the PM, BJP issued a statement condemning Congress behaviour in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

The Congress retorted that BJP should refrain from delivering sermons on the sensitive issue as its track record in dealing with terrorism was poor. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said instead of delivering sermons, the government should work on bringing back principal perpetrators of Mumbai blasts, Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, and ensuring strongest of punishment to them.