'Whom Are You Trying to Protect?' Amit Shah Slams Chidambaram Over 'Homegrown Terrorists' Remark

New Delhi — Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday strongly criticized the Congress party and senior leader P. Chidambaram for suggesting that the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack may have been "homegrown" rather than infiltrators from across the border. Shah said there is clear evidence linking the attackers to Pakistan, including their Pakistani voter IDs.

Speaking during the 'Operation Sindoor' debate in the Lok Sabha, Shah expressed outrage that even a small doubt was being cast by Chidambaram and others over the Pakistani identity of the terrorists responsible for killing 26 people in the Baisaran Valley of Jammu and Kashmir.

Shah questioned the intent behind such statements, asking:
“Whom do you want to save? What will you gain by defending Pakistan?”

The Home Minister told the House that both the government and investigative agencies possess sufficient evidence confirming the Pakistani origin of the attackers.

“They were Pakistanis. Their voter ID numbers are available. The rifles they used are in our possession. We’ve also recovered Pakistan-made chocolates carried by the terrorists,” Shah said.

He further accused Chidambaram of effectively giving a clean chit to Pakistan, despite the overwhelming evidence.

Chidambaram, in a recent media interview, had questioned the lack of official updates from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) regarding the probe.

“Have they identified the terrorists? Do we know where they came from? For all we know, they could be homegrown. Why assume they came from Pakistan without concrete evidence?” he had said.

Later, when Opposition members — led by SP MP Akhilesh Yadav — heckled Shah for the alleged delay in justice, despite over 100 days passing since the April 22 Pahalgam attack, Shah responded firmly.

He said that security forces had successfully neutralized the terrorists involved in the attack and stressed that it was a major counter-terrorism success.

Taking aim at the Opposition, he asked:

“Doesn’t the killing of terrorists bring a smile to your faces?”

“I believed the elimination of the Pahalgam terrorists would be a moment of shared satisfaction in Parliament. But your reaction is baffling. National security should unite us, not divide us based on religion or politics,” Shah added.