New Delhi:
The Treasury and Opposition benches faced off in parliament this afternoon as Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra read out the names of the 25 Indians murdered in cold blood by terrorists in Pahalgam. The April 22 Pahalgam massacre had seen the killing of 26 civilians — including 25 Indians and one Nepali tourist — at the scenic Baisaran Valley.
“I want to read out the names of 25 Indians so that every MP sitting here realises that even they were humans like us and not pawns of political powers. Even they were sons of this country. We are all answerable to their families. They deserve to know the truth,” said Ms Gandhi, trying to corner the government during the special debate on Operation Sindoor.
As she read out the first name, the treasury benches shouted: “Hindu”, seeking to highlight that the killings were carried out based on their religion. “Bharatiya,” replied Ms Gandhi, asserting they were Indians first.
This soon set off a face-off between the treasury and opposition benches as loud shouts of “Hindu” and “Indian” filled the Lok Sabha after every name that Ms Gandhi read out.
