Pahalgam all-party meet: Owaisi slams Centre for ignoring smaller parties

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite all political parties irrespective of the number of members in the Parliament for the Pahalgam all-party meeting.

In a social media post, the Hyderabad Lok Sabha member said he spoke to Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday night and that he was informed that the NDA government was thinking of inviting only parties with "five or 10 MPs".

Owaisi also said when he asked why not parties with fewer MPs, the Union Minister replied that the meeting would get "too long" and "joked" that the AIMIM leaders "voice is anyway, too loud".

"Your own party (BJP) does not have a majority. Whether it is a party with 1 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. I urge Narendra Modi to make this a real ALL Party Meeting, every party with an MP in Parliament must be invited," he said in the post.

The Centre will brief leaders of various political parties on the Pahalgam terror attack and hear their views at the meeting to be held on Thursday evening.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to brief the leaders, official sources said. Singh will chair the meeting.

Owaisi said it is not a BJP's or another party's internal meeting, but 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?"  Terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly tourists.