PM 'fooling people' on Pahalgam, was absent at all-party meet: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "fooling people" with regard to the Pahalgam terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir.

The chief minister also said the prime minister did not attend the all-party meeting conveyed by the Centre, post the attack, but took part in an election rally in Bihar.

"The prime minister should have been there during the all-party meeting. He had gone to electioneering in Bihar. So what is important to him? He is putting Topi' (hat) on people (meaning fooling people)," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

He was responding to a query of India's response to the terror attack.

The chief minister said, "There is no need for war. We are not in favour of it. We should take stringent measures. That's it. Security should be beefed up."  There should be peace in the country. People should be protected and the Centre should initiate security measures, he added.

To a question about the union government's directives to states to send back Pakistani nationals, the CM said, "We will cooperate. We will send back the Pakistani nationals and inform the Centre about it. Right now, we do not have information about the number of Pakistanis residing in Karnataka."  According to the CM, Pakistani nationals are in the major cities of the state, but most of them are in Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiah reiterated that the Pahalgam terror strike was the outcome of security lapse.

Terrorists opened fire at a tourist location near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on the afternoon of April 22, killing 26 people, mostly tourists.