New Delhi : Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had a heated exchange during the second day of discussion in Lok Sabha on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack on Tuesday.
Shah informed the House that three terrorists involved in the April 22 Pahalgam attack were killed in the recent Operation Mahadev in Jammu and Kashmir. He claimed the Army and CRPF had neutralised the "Aaka" (Master) of terrorists.
After this the Samajwadi Party leader interjected to say "Un ke aaqa Pakistan mein hain (Their masters are in Pakistan). To this the Home Minister retorted "Kaun... aapki Pakistan se baat hoti hai kya (Who is that; do you speak with Pakistan)?"
There was a brief uproar by Opposition MPs who rose from their seats and objected to Shah's remarks.
The Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj Yadav spoke after DMK MP Kanimozhi to launch a blistering attack on the Centre stating that instead of the Government announcing the cessation of hostilities with Pakistan, their "great friend" US President Donald Trump ended up announcing the ceasfire between the two countries after 'Operation Sindoor'.
"How did the government back down? What was the reason for which the government had to announce a ceasefire? I had a hope that the government will announce the ceasefire. But their friendship is very deep, so they told their friend (US) that you should only announce the ceasefire, we don't need it, we will accept it from you only," the Lok Sabha MP said during his address as the Parliament discussed India's strong, successful and decisive 'Operation Sindoor.'
"What answer is the government accepting this? Actually, the topic I have come here to talk about, this should not have been an issue in the first place. There are many issues being made, but this issue is not ruling or Opposition, this is about nation's security," Yadav said
United States President Trump has repeatedly claimed that he had a hand in enabling a "ceasefire" deal with India and Pakistan, claiming to have used trade and tariffs to let the two nations stop hostilities. The Indian government however, has repeatedly denied the claims by President Trump, saying that the cessation of hostilities happened only after the two sides agreed between themselves rather than through a third party.
The Samajwadi Party MP also praised the Indian armed forces, saying "if we count the daring armed forces of the world, Indian forces will be at the front of that list. Everyone lauds their courage."
However, the Kannauj MP also took a jibe at misinformation being spread by certain news channels over the alleged capture of Karachi and Lahore, or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). He said that anyone watching the news channels would be confident of India's victory, but rather saw the news of cessation of hostilities.
"I am happy to know that not only were Pakistani terror bases destroyed, but also India reached Pakistani airbases. We felt before that India could teach a lesson to Pakistan, give a proper reply. But when we were watching the various channels, then it felt like Karachi, Lahore is ours, some even said we captured some (Pakistanis). With the visuals of the channels it felt like PoK was ours only," he said.
Criticising the government further, that while he sees "different engines of government" clashing together, they have been united regarding PoK.
"But, I see different engines of government clashing together, it is possible that it is my false belief, but regarding PoK we see all the engines together. When it comes to reaching PoK some even said that within 6 months we will get a chance to get back PoK." he said.
Taking a jibe at the NDA MPs during his address, he said, "I am happy to see that whenever the Opposition MPs are speaking, they are getting praises for their words, but when the ruling alliance speaks then their own people are not praising them."
Earlier today, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, who is also the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, targeted the Central government over the US president's remarks, as he asked "if Islamabad was ready to kneel down, "why did you stop, and to whom did you surrender?"
"The entire country, and the Opposition, were supporting PM Modi. Suddenly, on 10th May, we got to know that there had been a ceasefire. Why? We wanted to know from PM Modi that if Pakistan was ready to kneel down, then why did you stop, and to whom did you surrender? The US President has said this 26 times that he forced India and Pakistan to announce a ceasefire," Gogoi said.
India carried out Operation Sindoor in response to Pahalgam terror attack and carried out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoJK. India repelled subsequent Pakstani aggression and pounded its airbases.