New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) Leaders across party lines on Thursday assured their support to the government in taking decisive action against terrorism and destroying terror camps, even as they flagged security lapses in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where 26 people were gunned down by terrorists.

During an all-party meeting to discuss the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, the government said it was taking all measures to ensure security. It noted that the attack was aimed at vitiating the atmosphere at a time when the economy was on the upswing and tourism was booming in Jammu and Kashmir.

The government did not spell out any kind of action against terrorism during the meeting and the opposition also did not seek any such details.

After the meeting, all leaders assured their full support to any government action against the perpetrators of the terror attack.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said everyone agreed that India should fight terror unitedly and all parties said that they are with the government in this fight.

All political parties have given this message and their leaders have said in one voice that whatever step the government takes, they will support it.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said everyone at the meeting unequivocally condemned the terror attack and offered full support to the government. He also raised the issue of security lapses at the tourist spot, asking why no security personnel were deputed there, sources said.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said there has been a security lapse and the government did not act promptly after the attack.

“We will support the government decision in the best interest of the nation,” he said.

Some leaders, including Kharge and AAP’s Sanjay Singh, pointed out the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting and said that he should have been present.

TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay demanded that the prime minister convene a meeting of all party chiefs at the earliest.

Sanjay Singh said all parties demanded action by the government for the destruction of terror camps.

Bandhyopadhyay said the issue of possible security lapses was also discussed but the opposition assured that it was with the government in the fight against terrorism.

“The nation must be totally united in this fight to eliminate terrorism,” he said.

The government briefed leaders of various political parties on the Pahalgam terror attack and heard their views at the all-party meeting here.

At the beginning of the meeting, a moment of silence was observed for the victims of the attack.

While Defence Minister Rajnath Singh initiated the discussion at the meeting, Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka gave all leaders a 20-minute briefing on the attack and how it happened. Later, he answered the questions of several leaders and Home Minister Amit Shah joined him in answering the queries.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were also present at the meeting from the government’s side.

Besides Kharge and Gandhi, Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and BJP president J P Nadda attended the meeting which was chaired by Rajnath Singh.

Others who attended the meeting included NCP-SP’s Supriya Sule, NCP’s Praful Patel, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, BJD’s Sasmit Patra, TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, RJD’s Premchand Gupta, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva and SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav.

Earlier during the day, PM Modi declared in Bihar’s Madhubani that India will “identify, track, and punish” every terrorist and their “backers” involved in the Pahalgam carnage and pursue the killers to the “ends of the earth”.

Modi vowed that terrorism will not go “unpunished” and that every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism, he said.

The all-party meeting was held a day after the government announced a host of measures targeting Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack.

The decision to call the all-party meeting was taken on Wednesday, with Rajnath Singh and Shah reaching out to various parties.

It has been a convention to call an all-party meeting following an incident with serious repercussions related to national security, as was seen after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 or during the India-China standoff in 2020.

Targeting Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack, India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with it and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by PM Modi. PTI SKC SKU NAB ASK DIV DIV