Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 25 (ANI): Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao has condemned the BJP IT cell for allegedly targeting Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday in the wake of the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, calling it an attempt to politicise a national tragedy.

He said, NDA is creating unnecessary problems for Rahul Gandhi. This is not correct; it is a serious issue. Such actions are unnecessary and irresponsible'

His remarks follow an FIR that has been registered at the High Grounds Police Station in Bengaluru against the Karnataka BJP IT Cell over a social media post allegedly targeting Rahul Gandhi.

The complaint was filed by CM Dhananjay, President of the KPCC Legal Unit. In the complaint, Dhananjay alleged that the BJP's state IT Cell posted a message on social media suggesting that 'whenever Congress leader Rahul Gandhi goes abroad, there will be one attack after another in Kashmir.' The complaint alleged that the post was provocative and aimed at disseminating false information about Rahul Gandhi.

Additionally, Rao's statement comes in the context of a recent all-party meeting convened by the central government to discuss the Kashmir situation, where parties across the political spectrum reportedly agreed that there had been a security lapse.

'In the all-party meeting, the Congress extended full support to the government regarding its actions on Kashmir,' Rao said. On Thursday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the party had pointed to a 'security lapse' in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, at the all-party meeting convened by the government, and also conveyed its full support for any action taken against the perpetrators. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have attended the all-party meeting as he would have directly heard the viewpoints of opposition members.

'It is very important for PM Modi to be present in such an important meeting because the decision taken by PM Modi is final. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also there. Representatives from almost all the parties attented the meeting. When the ruling party members said that all the discussions would be conveyed to the Prime Minister, we replied that there is a difference between explaining the details later and being present on the occasion,' Kharge said.

'How did the security lapse happen despite three-tier security? Lot of innocents have been killed. In the three days before the terror incident, almost 1000 tourists went there. Rahul Gandhi asked if so many people were there, then the police should have been there. It is a security lapse...The government said the focus of the meeting was on how to make the system efficient so that such incidents are not repeated,' he added.

Kharge said there is a ' glaring mistake of intelligence and security failure' and the government did not act promptly in response to the terror attack.'All the parties agreed to the questions we raised. We will support the government's decision in the nation's best interest. We condemn this incident. We want to send a message that the nation is united,' he added.

The all-party meeting was attended by leaders from several political parties. The attack at Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam on April 22 killed 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen while leaving several others injured.

Following the terror attack, the Central government announced several diplomatic measures, such as closing the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari, suspending the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, giving them 40 hours to return to their country, and reducing the number of officers in the High Commissions on both sides.

He also mentioned that the Integrated Check Post at Attari will be closed with immediate effect. India also halted the Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. It is considered one of the deadliest terror attacks in the region since the 2019 Pulwama bombing, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, and among the most severe since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. (ANI)