CM Modi sought answers on terror, PM Modi seems to mock his previous self: Dipankar Bhattacharya

Narendra Modi as the chief minister of Gujarat used to demand former prime minister Manmohan Singh give answers on every terror attack, but as the PM, his "deafening silence" after the Pahalgam attack seems to be mocking his previous self, CPI(ML) Liberation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya said. In an editorial published in Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation's weekly news magazine 'ML Update', Bhattacharya also slammed Modi for not attending the all-party meeting on the Pahalgam attack, but addressing a rally in Bihar on the same day. "When the UPA government was in power, Narendra Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat used to demand answers from former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for every terror attack which took place in Jammu and Kashmir," Bhattacharya said. "The video of an eloquent Narendra Modi asking Manmohan Singh to explain how terrorists could cross the border and kill people at will when the powers that be in Delhi have complete control over the country's borders and over the flow of funds, information and communication, has been watched by millions over the last decade and more," he said. The CPI(ML) General Secretary said the Pahalgam attack is the first instance of tourists being targeted on this scale in the valley. "The same questions are today all the more pertinent, yet the deafening silence of Modi as India's PM seems to be mocking the questions raised by Modi as Gujarat CM," he said. "The PM cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and cancelled his scheduled programme in Kanpur on 24 April not to visit Kashmir but to address a rally in Bihar where elections are due later this year. He also did not bother to attend the all-party meeting in Delhi to discuss the Pahalgam attack," the Leftist leader said. He said Jammu and Kashmir is now a Union Territory, which means that the law and order in the region is an exclusive responsibility of the Union government. "The unified central command dealing with the challenge of terrorism is headed not by the elected Chief Minister but by the Lieutenant Governor appointed by the Union Government. Just two weeks before the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had visited the state to review the security situation and CM Omar Abdullah was kept out of that meeting," he said.

Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha should take the primary responsibility for the Pahalgam tragedy, and heads should roll, he demanded. "But abdication of responsibility and refusal of accountability remain the hallmark of the Modi regime." Bhattacharya also said there were reports that the establishment had intelligence about a possible terror attack, and said Modi even cancelled his April 19 visit to J-K at the last moment. The families of the victims, security analysts, and Kashmir watchers flagged this crucial intelligence and security lapse, and instead of owning up, the Centre is vilifying the Kashmiri Muslims, he said. "As with the Pulwama incident six years ago, the government is once again busy harvesting the shock and anger of the people for electoral gains," he said. On April 22, terrorists in Pahalgam gunned down 26 people, mostly tourists, in what is the deadliest attack in the Valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019, and the most egregious against civilians in a long time.