Politics, not sindoor flows in PM's veins: TMC's Ghose attacks govt over Pahalgam terror response

New Delhi: "Sindoor does not flow in your veins, only politics flows in your veins. If sindoor would have flowed in the Prime Minister's veins, such an incident would not have happened," Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha, launching a fierce attack on the Centre over the Pahalgam incident. Speaking during a special discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Operation Sindoor -- India's military response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians -- Ghose questioned the government's accountability and border security measures. "Terrorists entered Pahalgam only because of negligence. Why has accountability not been fixed?" the TMC leader asked, criticising what she termed administrative failure in handling border security.

Ghose questioned the government's diplomatic approach, particularly India's participation in cricket matches with Pakistan despite tensions. "The central government said Pakistan will be dismembered. Why is India playing cricket during the 2025 Asia Cup? Where is the diplomacy and policy?" she said. The TMC MP criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting the affected border villages. "The Prime Minister has been touring all across the world but has not found time to visit the bordering villages where innocent people were injured and killed, where schools were destroyed," she said. She noted that the PM had recently returned from Saudi Arabia but had not visited the affected areas. "The government does not have the word empathy in its dictionary. BJP was busy posting posters of the PM. The PM was portrayed donning the army uniform -- is this sympathy?" Ghose said. The TMC leader also questioned why border villages were excluded from mock drills. "When mock drills were conducted, why were the bordering villages kept out? In bordering villages, they faced enemy bombardments. They are the most neglected," she said. Ghose claimed that 16 people died during shelling during Operation Sindoor. Drawing on her journalistic background, she expressed concern about media control and misinformation. "As a journalist, I am deeply hurt and pained by how this government is controlling the media and pushing fake news. During war, it is a crime to push and publish fake news," she said.

The TMC MP questioned the home minister's accountability over the security failure. "The security of Kashmir directly comes under the central government. The central government is solely responsible for it. For how many days will the home minister abdicate his responsibility? Why is the home minister not offering his resignation?" she asked. Challenging government claims about normalcy in Kashmir, Ghose said, "The central government is always offering false stories that Kashmir is normal and there is no security concern. Is Kashmir normal? The answer is a big no." India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 with missile strikes targeting sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack.