Samajwadi Party chief and MP from Kannauj, Akhilesh Yadav, on Tuesday raised serious questions in the Lok Sabha regarding the timing and intent behind Operation Mahadev — the counter-terror operation in which three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam massacre were gunned down.
During his speech, Yadav appeared to suggest that the encounter may have served a political purpose. He alleged that the operation was timed to divert public and parliamentary attention from the opposition's mounting criticism of the government's handling of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians on April 22.
“Why did the encounter happen only yesterday? If the government is so technologically advanced, why hasn’t it been able to track the car that transported RDX during the Pulwama attack?” Akhilesh asked, hinting at inconsistencies in the government’s counter-terrorism record. His comments came a day after the Indian Armed Forces neutralised the three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists responsible for the Pahalgam attack, during an encounter conducted under Operation Mahadev — which coincided with the ongoing parliamentary debate on the government's response to the April 22 carnage, dubbed Operation Sindoor.
The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister took a combative tone as he criticised what he described as a grave intelligence failure that allowed the Pahalgam killings to occur in the first place. “Who will take responsibility for the intelligence lapse in the Pahalgam attack?” he asked. “The launch of Operation Sindoor after the attack is, in fact, an admission of that intelligence failure.”
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Yadav also questioned the decision to announce a ceasefire with Pakistan at a time when, according to him, Indian forces had gained the upper hand during the heightened tensions following the attack.
“When our Army had the opportunity to teach Pakistan a lesson, a ceasefire was suddenly announced,” he said. “Why? Under whose pressure? We expected the Indian government to make that announcement. Instead, it was their friend — Donald Trump — who announced the ceasefire.”
Akhilesh's remarks added to the opposition's growing narrative that the government failed to act decisively before the Pahalgam attack, and is now using post-facto military operations as a political shield.
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