Rahul Gandhi sought Parliament session so that good message goes outside: Mallikarjun Kharge on all-party meet

The opposition expressed support for the government and the armed forces at the all-party meeting on ' Operation Sindoor', and Rahul Gandhi demanded a Parliament session to give a good message, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Thursday. Speaking with reporters after attending the meeting, Kharge also expressed disappointment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not attend it.

"We wanted the PM to participate and briefly talk about the action against terrorism. We salute the jawans who have shown bravery. We wanted him to come and brief us but he did not. He had not even attended the last meeting," Kharge said.

All parties of the INDIA bloc and other parties as well spoke in one voice, and said, "you move ahead and we are with you in the decisions you take and are standing with the army", the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said.

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The PM has stated he has given full authority to the army to take whatever action it wants, Kharge said.

"Defence Minister ( Rajnath Singh) said this is a sensitive time and in the interest of the country, detailed questions are not to be asked that are defence secrets," he said.

Those present at the meeting also raised the issue of security of the people living in the border areas, he said.

Those who have lost their lives in shelling in Jammu and Kashmir, their kin should be taken care of, Kharge added.

"The government assured us that they would take all kinds of steps," he said.

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Rahul Gandhi demanded that a Parliament session be called so that a good message goes outside, Kharge informed.

"If a session is called, MPs can put forward their views and enhance the confidence of the people," Kharge said, adding the government gave no assurance to that.

The government briefed an all-party meeting on Thursday on the success of Operation Sindoor and its aftermath, as top government functionaries and opposition leaders met for a second time in a fortnight amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, S Jaishankar, J P Nadda and Nirmala Sitharaman represented the government, while Rahul Gandhi and Kharge from the Congress, Sandip Bandyopadhyay of the Trinamool Congress and DMK's T R Baalu were among the leading opposition figures in the meeting.