Gurdaspur terror attack raised in Lok Sabha

The government said that the home ministry would make a statement in the matter once the gunbattle is over

The terror attack in Gurdaspur in Punjab reverberated in the Lok Sabha on Monday as the government said that the home ministry will make a statement in the matter once the gunbattle is over.

When the house reassembled after a short adjournment at noon, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said: "After the encounter is over the home ministry will make a statement. I would request the speaker to alow the home minister. We want to take the house into confidence."

Naidu made the statement amid a huge ruckus by the opposition led by the Congress over the Lalit Modi and the Vyapam issues.

However, many members, specially of the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal, demanded that the Gurdaspur terror attack should be discussed as it was a question of the country's national security.

"This a matter of the country's security," Prem Singh Chandumajra of the SAD said raising the issue during zero hour.

S S Ahluwalia of the BJP said: "I want the government to give a statement and there should be a discussion in the house and a resolution should be passed."

"This is a matter of national security. There should not be any politics over this," he added.

Tathagat Satpathy of the Biju Janata Dal said: "This (the attack) is a serious matter. This shows that in India, the threat of terror is perceptible. This is a time for all political parties to come together. India has to stand up as a country".

CPI-M's M. Saleem said: "This is condemnable. The question is the kind of politics which is being practiced in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. The government should tell us."

Naidu replied that the terror attack was a serious issue and the government was talking with the Punjab government and will make a statement as soon as the gunfight was over.