Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and demonstrate a collective resolve.
In a separate letter, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has also requested the Prime Minister for such a session.
Several opposition MPs have made a similar demand to the government in the wake of the dastardly attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed last week, leaving the nation grief-stricken and outraged.
India has cited "cross-border linkages" to the horrific incident and promised severe punishment to those involved in the strike.
In a letter to the prime minister, Kharge said, "At this moment, when unity and solidarity is essential, the opposition believes that it is important to convene a special session of both Houses of Parliament at the earliest.
"This will be a powerful demonstration of our collective resolve and willpower to deal with the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam on innocent citizens on April 22. It is our fond hope that the session will be accordingly convened," the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha added.
The Congress president, however, had been unrelenting in his attack on PM Modi. At a party rally in Rajasthan on Monday, he lashed out at the prime minister for skipping the all-party meeting on the Pahalgam attack and accused the BJP of creating divisions in the country.
Kharge had said that in this hour of crisis, everyone wants to fight together, "but the BJP wants to spread venom and divide people".
Party general secretary, in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh shared the letter on X and said, "Congress President and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has written to the PM last night, requesting that a special session of both Houses of Parliament be convened at the earliest to demonstrate a collective will to deal with the situation arising out of the brutal terror attacks in Pahalgam on April 22."
In another letter, Rahul Gandhi said, "Dear Prime Minister, the terrorist attack in Pahalgam has outraged every Indian. At this critical time, India must show that we will always stand together against terrorism. The Opposition believes that a special session of both Houses of Parliament should be convened, where the representatives of the people can show their unity and determination. We request that such a special session be convened at the earliest."
The Budget session of the Parliament, which started on January 31, ended on April 4. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are scheduled to meet for the Monsoon Session in July.
The government had earlier called an all-party meeting to brief Opposition leaders on its future course of action. Kharge and Gandhi have said that the government has the full support of the Opposition for any action.