DMK MP Kanimozhi took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, accusing the Centre of failing in its most basic duty, ensuring the security of its citizens. Participating in the debate on Operation Sindoor, she alleged that the "self-proclaimed Vishwaguru” had failed the people of India.
“The Vishwaguru has failed us,” she declared, invoking the BJP’s repeated portrayal of India under Modi as a global leader. “If we are truly led by a Vishwaguru, why do these attacks keep happening? Why haven’t we learnt from the past?"
Kanimozhi began her remarks by acknowledging that Opposition MPs were made part of Operation Sindoor’s global outreach delegations. While she welcomed the rare gesture of inclusion by the BJP, she offered a pointed reflection saying, “For the first time, the BJP has shown some confidence in the Opposition. But I would like to say this, had the opportunity to lead these delegations not come our way, we would have been more grateful. Some opportunities are not meant to be celebrated but mourned. These missions arose from the failure of peace and the deep pain of tragedy.”
Turning to the Pahalgam which claimed 26 lives, Kanimozhi raised concerns about the failure of intelligence and security. She directly accused the government of ignoring warnings from intelligence agencies. “Why did the attack happen when R\&AW and IB had flagged suspicious movements in the area? There were reports of terrorists carrying out reconnaissance. Why wasn’t that taken seriously?” asked the DMK MP.
“Those who died were ordinary people. They believed you, they trusted you. They thought the area was safe. What did they get in return? Death. Has anyone from the Union government even reached out to their families?” said Kanimozhi.
She also criticised the lack of central compensation and accused the Centre of shifting responsibility to the state government.
The DMK MP further cited an investigation which found that a US-based space tech firm, Maxar Technologies, had received a spike in requests for high-resolution satellite imagery of the Pahalgam region just weeks before the attack. “A company from Pakistan, BSI, which has ties to federal crimes in the US, was behind those requests. How did that not raise a red flag? Why didn’t our security establishment act?” she questioned.
In addition, Kanimozhi also pointed to the lack of global condemnation of the Pahalgam attack, questioning India’s diplomatic reach under the current leadership. “Do we not have any friendly nations to stand by us? To condemn a country that sponsors terrorism against us?” she asked, taking a dig at the Centre’s international outreach efforts.
She accused the Home Minister of using his speech to deflect attention and blame the Opposition rather than addressing the government's own failures.“Even today, the Home Minister only focused on blaming us. But we have never failed the nation,” she said. “The DMK was the first to organise a rally in support of our defence forces. We stood with the government during the all-party meetings," Kanimozhi added.
Referencing the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Kanimozhi reminded the House that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had apologised to the nation for the tragedy. “Has this government ever shown such humility? What have you learnt from these repeated attacks? Nothing. And what have you taught the country? Also nothing,” she said.
“You cannot keep talking about Operation Sindoor and hope we forget these questions. We want answers, not slogans,” asserted the DMK MP.
