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On the morning of November 28, 2008, while the Mumbai terror attack was still underway, several national newspapers carried a full-page, blood-spattered advertisement from the Bharatiya Janata Party describing Manmohan Singh’s government as “weak”, “unwilling” and “incapable”.
Clearly, the BJP was pulling no punches in attacking the ruling United Progressive Alliance for the security lapses that led to 26/11. So much so that both Home Minister Shivraj Patil and National Security Advisor MK Narayanan had to soon resign from their positions.
Over 16 years after the Mumbai attacks, another gruesome terrorist act – this time in Pahalgam, Kashmir – claimed the lives of 26 tourists on April 22.
The opposition response, however, has been relatively muted this time. In fact, at an all-party meeting held by the Modi government two days after the incident, a united opposition extended support to the government for any step that it would take.
Explaining this decision, spokespersons from three major opposition outfits told Scroll that their parties had deferred to what they described as overwhelming public support for “strong” government action.
This approach from the opposition has meant that questions about the alleged lapses in security and the need to hold officials responsible for them have taken a backseat in political discussions so far.
‘People want action’
Some of the opposition leaders that Scroll contacted claimed that public outrage over the issue had shaped their response to it.
“The sentiment of the people is that we [the opposition] need to stand with the government,” said a Samajwadi Party spokesperson from Lucknow, requesting anonymity to discuss his organisation’s outlook frankly. “People want to see action taken against Pakistan. That is the mood.”
Processions and protests took place across India in the aftermath of the attack. Some of these reportedly involved Hindutva organisations as well. One opposition leader from a Maharashtra party admitted that such onground mobilisation gave the ruling party an edge.
“The Hindu-Muslim rhetoric will be difficult to counter,” he said, referring to the fact that the terrorists in Pahalgam singled out Hindus as targets.
On its part, the Congress party organised its own candlelight marches in Delhi and Hyderabad, which saw the participation of prominent names such as Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy.
“When there is an attack on India, we are all united in repelling it,” said Congress spokesperson Rajeev Gowda, dismissing the idea that his party could do more to hold the government accountable. “These are delicate subjects. What do you want us to do? Go out on the streets? We have, in fact, gone out on the streets but in solidarity.”
At the Hyderabad rally, the Telangana chief minister went so far as to call on Prime Minister Modi to “attack” Pakistan and “merge” Pakistan-occupied Kashmir with India. Notably, he was not the only one to say so. Abhishek Banerjee, general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, also said on April 27 that India should “reclaim” Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Walking a tightrope
It is not as if the opposition is not confronting the government or the ruling party at all.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks supposedly blaming the lack of patriotism among Indians for such incidents and the prime minister’s decision to skip the all-party meeting drew the Congress party’s censure. Others like Akhilesh Yadav have called the BJP “insensitive” for sharing seemingly political messages with images of the victims.
However, the opposition has so far desisted from demanding accountability for the security lapses that led to the attack. Unlike after 26/11, for example, there are no demands for the resignations of any bureaucrats or ministers. Part of the reason for this, the spokespersons said, is the prevailing media environment in the country.
“Emotions are running high right now,” explained another Samajwadi Party spokesperson, who also did not wish to be named. “We are waiting for more information to emerge. If we said something on the first day, the debate on television would have shifted to how we are anti-national. It is challenging. We are swimming against the tide.”
This leader blamed TV news channels for creating a “war-like” environment in the country and starting “media trials” against those who appear to be critical of the government.
Gowda too echoed this frequent opposition grievance, alleging that TV channels were more focussed on them than the government. “The media is just waiting to blow up every single statement by the opposition and bring in language like Mr Goyal used about Indians not being patriotic,” he complained. “That does not help improve the discourse at this difficult time.”
Media role
The opposition has reason to be wary of the media. A day after the tourist killings in Pahalgam, an eight-member panel on Times Now spent time discussing comments made by Robert Vadra of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Separately, Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic, went after the Omar Abdullah-led elected government in Jammu and Kashmir. “What has an election in Kashmir ever achieved?” he asked rhetorically.
Goswami did not tell his viewers that it was the Union government led by Narendra Modi, not Omar Abdullah, which was responsible for the maintenance of law and order in Jammu and Kashmir since it was turned into a Union territory in 2019.
Those who have tracked national security issues in India from within and without the government machinery since the turn of the millennium say things were not always like this. Journalist and author Sanjaya Baru, who served both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh in different capacities during their respective tenures as prime ministers, said the media was “far more responsible and professional” before.
“Over the past decade they have become less professional, unduly populist and reckless in their news reporting and commentary,” he told Scroll.
Victims abandoned
Some opposition politicians are hoping the passage of time will create more space for them to operate in. “If the government does not do something soon, then obviously questions will be raised,” said the first Samajwadi leader quoted in this story. “Maybe in a few days, the entire country will start asking what happened.”
But others within the opposition alliance are sceptical of this outlook. “In the name of national security, the BJP is threatening us into silence,” said P Wilson of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
He added: “There is no real explanation from the government. What was the Intelligence Bureau doing? They must tell the country. The entire security apparatus of Kashmir is in their control.”
The opposition’s hesitation in attacking the government and the mainstream media’s lack of journalism means that grieving family members are virtually on their own. Still, they are holding the ruling party to account for the alleged security lapses which led to the deaths of their loved ones.
Videos of survivors cornering BJP leaders, who came to visit them, have been widely shared online. “Your life is valuable but a taxpayer’s life is not?” a bereaved Shital Kalathiya asked Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil, when he visited her home in Surat. Kalathiya, whose late husband Shailesh was killed in Pahalgam, compared the security convoys available for “VIPs” such as Paatil to the lack of security for the slain tourists.
In another viral video, she said to the cameras: “What sort of government do we have? It is trying to blame this on Kashmir. Kashmir is not at fault. The fault is in the government’s security arrangements. There were so many tourists up there but not one soldier.”
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