As top leaders attend all-party meet, PM Modi, JD(U) receive flak for skipping the event

New Delhi: BJP-ally JD(U) on Thursday said it was not attending the all-party meeting on Pahalgam terror strike owing to their preoccupation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's programme in Bihar even as AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi following extension of an invitation after he criticised it for ignoring him citing that his party has less than five MPs.

Opposition parties also raised questions over Modi not attending the meeting while Trinamool Congress asked why the meeting was restricted to Parliamentary floor leaders when the government should have called party presidents to brief them about the terror attack and follow-up action

JD(U) Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha said they would not be attending the meeting as all top party leaders are engaged with Modi's programme, inviting immediate criticism from the Congress. "Whatever decision will be taken in the meeting, JD(U) will stand with the government decision and support the Government in the country's interest," he said.

Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman Pawan Khera posted on 'X', "Prime Minister’s priority is elections. JD(U)’s priority is the Prime Minister. All-party meeting on terror attack can wait."

As the government decided to invite only parties with five or more MPs in Parliament to the meeting, Owaisi had criticised the move and said he had raised the issue with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday night. As he took to 'X', Home Minister Amit Shah telephoned him and invited Owaisi, the lone AIMIM MP, to the meeting.

Owaisi, who flew from Hyderabad in the afternoon to Delhi, posted on 'X' earlier in the day, "regarding the Pahalgam All Party Meeting, I spoke to Kiren Rijiju last night. He said they are thinking of inviting only parties with '5 or 10 MPs'. When I asked why not parties with fewer MPs, he said that the meeting would get 'too long'. When I asked 'what about us, the smaller parties?' He joked that my voice is anyway too loud."

"This is not a BJP’s or another party’s internal meeting, it is an all-party meeting to send a strong and united message against terrorism and those countries that harbour terrorists. Can’t Narendra Modi spend an extra hour to hear the concerns of all parties? Your own party (BJP) does not have a majority. Whether it is a party with one MP or a 100, they were both elected by Indians and deserve to be heard on such an important matter. This is not a political issue, it is a national issue. Everyone must be heard," he said.

CPI(ML)L, which has two Lok Sabha MPs, also protested against not being invited to the meeting. Party General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said, "instead of holding a genuine all-party meeting for a collective consultation in the wake of a major terrorist attack and security failure, the government appears interested in only a selective PR exercise. In 1984, even the BJP had only two MPs."

"Keeping small parties, including the party in power in J&K, the National Conference, and parties like the CPI(ML)L which are well known for their commitment to Constitutional governance and communal harmony, out of a crucial all-party meeting apparently because of their limited parliamentary strength, only betrays the Modi government's lack of seriousness and readiness to listen to voices from the ground," he said.