United front at all-party meeting

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Today, we stand united in solidarity with our security forces in fighting terrorism and in defending the unity and integrity of India ALL-PARTY MEET RESOLUTION

NEW DELHI: Opposition parties, cutting across political lines , closed ranks around the ruling NDA on Saturday, unanimously condemning the terror attack this week that left 40 CRPF troopers dead in Kashmir.

An all-party meeting summoned by home minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the attack adopted a resolution deploring terrorism in all its forms and the support it was getting from across the border. The resolution did not name Pakistan, but said India had faced the menace of cross-border terrorism for the past three decades and that the country had confronted the challenge firmly and resiliently. “The entire nation speaks in one voice to express its determination to fight these challenges. Today, we stand united in solidarity with our security forces in fighting terrorism,” the resolution said.

At the meeting, the Congress’s suggestion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi separately meet the presidents of all national and regional parties to take stock of the situation won support from some quarters, and NDA partners Shiv Sena and Shiromani Akali Dal called for stringent action against Pakistan-based terrorist groups, people aware of the developments said.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the party reiterated its president Rahul Gandhi’s statement that it would stand with the government to end terror.