'PM should seek Amit Shah's resignation,' says UBT's Sanjay Raut after Pahalgam attack

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut demanded on Wednesday in Mumbai that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should seek home minister Amit Shah's resignation over the intelligence failure that led to the terror attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives. The attack is considered one of the deadliest in the region since the 2019 Pulwama strike that killed 40 CRPF jawans.
"Security of J-K was already in the hands of the Army, but the attack happened. Action should first be taken on the Home Department, the government is repeatedly making mistakes...the Prime Minister should accept Amit Shah's resignation," Raut stated during a press conference in Mumbai.

Raut criticized the recent meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi where the Armed Forces were given complete operational freedom to respond to the Pahalgam terror attack.
"Look, giving free hand to the army is not a big deal, our Indian army is very big. Just yesterday, we saw that Rafale has been purchased. 27 Rafale aircraft worth Rs 60,000 crore have been purchased. The PM has given a free hand to the army, and Kashmir is a part of India because of the army. The army had a free hand in Kashmir too, still there was an attack," Raut expressed.
"You are saying that we have given a free hand to our soldiers, but what is the role of political leadership in that? You cannot leave the problem to the army and ignore it. You are responsible, and the country's home ministry is responsible. Why did the intelligence fail? What were you doing?" he questioned.
Raut also criticized the government's response to the situation, particularly regarding the closure of YouTube channels.
"You closed a YouTube channel, that is not revenge, it is a drama, it is a channel of India, 4 PM you closed it without notice, what kind of democracy is this?" he stated.
The UBT leader also raised concerns about the handling of the Pulwama attack from seven years ago.
"It has been 7 years for the Pulwama incident, what action was taken, 40 lives were lost, how to do Josh, a film came out, you tell me what is Josh, where did your Kashmir files come out, everyone from the Prime Minister to everyone else went out wiping their tears, what has happened now?" Raut questioned.
He concluded with a challenging statement to the government: "Now your file should be taken out, Home Ministry files, what will you do, at the most you will put me in jail."