‘Last Resort’: Siddaramaiah Clarifies ‘No War’ Remark Amid BJP’s ‘Pakistan Ratna’ Jibe

‘Last Resort’: BJP leader CR Kesavan has started calling Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as "spineless", as the Congress' head put forth by stating that he is not for "war" with Pakistan instead referred to security lapse regarding a recent deadly terror attack that had claim 26 lives in Pahalgam.

The BJP leader then contrasted the statements of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with those of Siddaramaiah. "On one hand Rahul Gandhi says we are with the central government and whatever action the government takes we will support it. And here you have Mr. Siddaramaiah. He's a chief minister of a state, He's a senior leader of the Congress Party. He speaks like a Pakistan apologist."

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Kesavan on Saturday accused Congress of soft-pedaling on terrorism which is being sponsored by Pakistan, stating, "As spineless statement exposes how the Congress Party soft pedals on Pakistan sponsored terrorism. It also reveals how the Congress leadership continues to adopt a weak and toothless approach to Pakistan-sponsored terror activities."

He went on to talk about a recent attack in Pahalgam as an obvious "Pakistan backed Islamic terrorism attack," and demanded clarification from Congress regarding its stance on this.

"And the Congress leadership now has to clarify its stand. Because is the Congress Party playing a double game? Is the Congress Party running with the hares and hunting with the hounds?" Kesavan asked.

Kesavan continued to question the official position of Congress, asserting that it should not be mistaken for the former party rule, "So what is the official stand of the Congress leadership? Is it the cowardly statement of Siddaramaiah or Rahul Gandhi's statement? First the Congress Party needs to clarify this."

The BJP leader accused the party of failing to act during previous terror attacks under their rule.

"One will never forget the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, again Pakistan based. And how you know the Congress party didn't even retaliate to the attack. In fact they didn't even revoke the most favored nation status of Pakistan after the 26/11 attacks," he said.

Kesavan went further to compare his actions to those of Prime Minister Modi with Congress, saying, "And only you know it was Modiji. After the Pulwama strikes in 2019, Modi revoked the most favoured nation status. That is the history of the Congress party."

And finally, on Saturday, he recalled some of the comments that Congress leaders made downplaying the role of Pakistan in terrorism.

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"And when 26/11 happened, the leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly of the Congress party gave a clean to the terrorist Kasab saying Hemant Karkare was not killed by Kasab. And then you had people like Sam Patroda, the mentor of Rahul Gandhi. And what a shocking statement he made referring to 26/11. Sam Pitroda said eight people came and did something and you don't jump on a nation meaning Pakistan. Shameful statements," Kesavan said.

He called on the Congress leadership to clarify its stance, saying, "This is how you know Congress leadership gave a clean chit to Pakistan. And now, the same you know, Congress leaders trying to have a soft approach to Pakistan is surfacing. It's time Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership either they disown the statement of Siddaramaiah and they need to clarify and explain what is the official stand of the Congress Party to this murderous massacre of Indians and Hindus by Pakistan-based terrorists."

On Saturday, Karnataka's chief minister Siddaramaiah said that more security should be added in the Kashmir valley to ensure that peace is possible in the area.

"There has been a security lapse in this incident. We are not in favour of war. Steps should be taken to tighten security measures in the Kashmir region. The central government should increase security to ensure peace in Kashmir," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

The Karnataka CM was clear that his government would act to return all Pakistani nationals residing in the state as per central government instructions.

"Steps will be taken to send back Pakistani citizens as per the instructions of the central government. Information will be obtained about the number of Pakistanis in various cities of the state," Siddaramaiah said.

The country is mourning the shocking killing of 26 people in a terrorist attack in the Pahalgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, which left many others critically wounded.

India has taken strong counter measures against Pakistan for harboring cross-border terrorists' activities.

The Indian government has put on hold the Indus waters treaty with Pakistan. A Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on April 23 approved this decision.

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