Leaders across party lines on Thursday called for decisive action against terrorism and terror camps, and assured the government of their full support, even as some opposition parties flagged security lapses in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, where 26 people were gunned down by terrorists.
During an all-party meeting to discuss the April 22 Pahalgam attack, the government said it was taking all measures to ensure security and assured the leaders of action against terrorism and its backers.
It noted that the Pahalgam attack was aimed at vitiating the atmosphere at a time when the economy was on the upswing and tourism in Jammu and Kashmir was booming.
The government did not spell out any action against terrorism during the meeting and the opposition also did not seek any such details.
After the meeting, all leaders assured their full support to any government action against the perpetrators of the terror attack, including Pakistan.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said everyone agreed that India should fight terror unitedly and all parties said that they are with the government in this fight.
All political parties have given this message and their leaders have said in one voice that whatever step the government takes, they will support it.
Rijiju said the government assured leaders of action against terrorism and its backers.
"All the political leaders have in unanimous voice supported the action taken by the CCS with regard to Pakistan and also unanimously expressed support for any future action the government will take to fight terrorism.
"I feel that after this all-party meeting, we will succeed in this fight against terrorism and will act against Pakistan and its supporters who are behind this terror attack and remain united," Rijiju said.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said everyone at the meeting unequivocally condemned the terror attack and offered full support to the government.
"The opposition has given full support to the government to take any action," he said.
Gandhi raised the issue of security lapses at the tourist spot, asking why no security personnel were deployed there, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
The issue was later raised by several opposition leaders during the meeting.
There has been a security lapse and the government did not act promptly after the attack, some of the opposition leaders claimed.
"We will support the government decision in the best interest of the nation," Kharge said.
Some leaders, including Kharge and AAP's Sanjay Singh, questioned the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the meeting.
TMC's Sudip Bandyopadhyay demanded that the prime minister convene a meeting of all party chiefs at the earliest.
Sanjay Singh said all parties demanded action by the government for the destruction of terror camps.
Bandhyopadhyay said the issue of possible security lapses was also discussed but the opposition assured that it was with the government in the fight against terrorism.
"The nation must be totally united in this fight to eliminate terrorism," he said.
TDP's Lavu Krishna Devarayalu said Pakistan will face repercussions for the Pahalgam attack.
"The incident that happened is condemnable. Two people from Andhra Pradesh were killed in this attack. This kind of incident should not have happened. Pakistan and terrorist organisations will face the repercussions," he said.
Every party is on the same page in supporting the government to take stringent action, he added.
The meeting began with a moment of silence for the victims of the attack.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh initiated the discussion at the meeting and Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka made a 20-minute presentation on the attack and the steps being taken to step up security.
Later, he answered questions of several leaders and Home Minister Amit Shah interjected wherever required.
After the meeting, sources said troops were present in Pahalgam but not deployed as local authorities were not informed about tourists being taken to Baisaran by tour operators.
The officials underlined that deployment of forces takes place based on details provided by tour operators.
Opposition MPs spoke about their sentiments but there were no heated exchanges in the meeting.
Citing UN resolutions, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said the government can take action against any nation that shelters terrorist groups.
"The international law also permits us to conduct air and naval blockade in self-defence against Pakistan," he noted, while condemning the manner in which people were gunned down after asking their religion.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman were also present at the meeting from the government's side.
Besides Kharge and Gandhi, Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and BJP president J P Nadda attended the meeting, which was chaired by Rajnath Singh.
Others who attended the meeting included NCP-SP's Supriya Sule, NCP's Praful Patel, BJD's Sasmit Patra, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde, RJD's Premchand Gupta, DMK's Tiruchi Siva and SP's Ram Gopal Yadav.
Earlier during the day, PM Modi declared in Bihar's Madhubani that India will "identify, track, and punish" every terrorist and their "backers" involved in the Pahalgam carnage and pursue the killers to the "ends of the earth".
Modi vowed that terrorism will not go "unpunished" and that every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done. India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism, he said.
The all-party meeting was held a day after the government announced a host of measures targeting Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attack.
The decision to call the all-party meeting was taken on Wednesday, with Rajnath Singh and Shah reaching out to various parties.
It has been a convention to call an all-party meeting following an incident with serious repercussions related to national security, as was seen after the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 or during the India-China standoff in 2020.
Targeting Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack, India on Wednesday downgraded diplomatic ties with it and announced a raft of measures, including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.