New Delhi:
The Bharatiya Janta Party and the Congress resumed normal service Tuesday, a temporary ‘truce’ after last week’s terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam forgotten, with the latter taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his handling of the attack that killed 26 people, mostly civilians.
The two squabbled over a Congress X post late Monday – a photo (apparently) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a yellow kurta, white pyjama, and black shows, but with the PM edited out.
Accompanying the photo was a short message – ‘In times of need, missing’.
The ruling party’s response was swift and furious.
BJP leader Amit Malviya accused the Congress of political skullduggery, calling the X post “a dog whistle aimed at its Muslim vote bank and a veiled incitement against the Prime Minister”.
The Congress leaves little doubt with its use of “Sar Tan Se Juda” imagery. This is not merely a political statement; it is a dog whistle aimed at its Muslim vote bank and a veiled incitement against the Prime Minister. It is not the first time the Congress has resorted to such… https://t.co/WEgblPq2FX
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 29, 2025
The Congress’ post was in reference to its allegations the Prime Minister has been ‘missing in action’ as the Pahalgam crisis erupted and unfolded. The Congress has been particularly critical of the PM not attending the all-party meet government called last week to discuss the attack.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said he raised the question of the absent PM. “The first question I raised… when the government convenes a meeting, the Prime Minister should be present. Since he was not present, we said it was not right,” he told reporters after the meet.
The PM, instead, was at a government event in poll-bound Bihar, from where he fired a warning – in English, to maximise coverage – to terrorists and handlers involved in the Pahalgam attack.
The BJP fired a multi-barrel response to the Congress’ photo, accusing the party of underhanded tactics ordered by Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition.
“It is not the first time the Congress has resorted to such tactics,” Mr Malviya raged, also accusing Rahul Gandhi of having “instigated and justified violence” towards the PM.
Not to be outdone, national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari accused the Congress of “taking orders from Pakistan”, claiming a Pakistani politician had quoted the opposition party’s post.
“It shows Pakistan is doing batting for Congress… Congress is doing bowling for Pakistan.”
Another BJP leader, Shehzad Poonawalla, said, the Congress’ post proved that it had become what he artfully called ‘Pakistan Prasth Party’, play on the acronym of that country’s Pakistan People’s Party, whose member Fawad Chaudhury had reshared the Congress’ X post.
One of the BJP’s allies, LJP leader Chirag Paswan also came out to bat, pointing to the speech by J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, an on-paper ally of the Congress, as “the need of the hour”.
The Congress’ ‘gayab’ attack on Prime Minister Modi appears to signal the end of any stay in hostilities between it and the BJP, which is significant given the raft of high-stakes Assembly elections – Bihar this year and Bengal and Tamil Nadu in 2026 – approaching.
Twenty-six people were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
The Resistance Front, an offshoot of banned, Pak-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility, but the five terrorists who carried out the attack remain at large.
A massive manhunt is underway to track them down.
Meanwhile, India and Pakistan have traded diplomatic measures, including suspension of visas and bilateral treaties and agreements, such as the Simla Agreement and the Indus Waters Treaty, in the first round of responses.
The Prime Minister, who was in Saudi Arabia at the time of the attack, and rushed back 24 hours later, his plane avoiding Pak airspace, has said terror’s evil agenda won’t be allowed to win.