Pahalgam all-party meet: Owaisi gets call from Home Ministry, will attend meeting

Hours after he found fault with the Centre for not inviting smaller parties to the all-party meeting convened by it on the Pahalgam terror attack, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said he was extended an invitation.

Owaisi, in a social media post on Thursday, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite all political parties irrespective of their strength in the Parliament for the meeting.

Terrorists opened fire in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday afternoon, killing 26 people, mostly tourists.

Speaking to reporters here, the Hyderabad MP said the all-party meeting is of national importance.

"Just now I got a call from the Home Minister's office and they asked me to come (for the meeting). I will attend the meeting," Owaisi said.

Earlier in the day, Owaisi took to social media and said he spoke to Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday night and that he was informed that the NDA government was thinking of inviting only parties with "five or 10 MPs".

He also said when he asked why not parties with fewer MPs, the Union Minister replied that the meeting would get "too long" and "joked" that the AIMIM leader's "voice is anyway, too loud".

"Your own party (BJP) does not have a majority. Whether it is a party with 1 MP or a 100, they were both elected by Indians and deserve to be heard on such an important matter. This is not a political issue, it is a national issue. Everyone must be heard. I urge Narendra Modi to make this a real ALL Party Meeting, every party with an MP in Parliament must be invited," he said in the post.

The Centre will brief leaders of various political parties on the Pahalgam terror attack and hear their views at the meeting to be held on Thursday evening.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to brief the leaders, official sources said. Singh will chair the meeting.

Owaisi said it is not a BJP's or another party's internal meeting, but an all-party meeting to send a strong and united message against terrorism and those countries that harbour terrorists. "Can't Narendra Modi spend an extra hour to hear the concerns of all parties?"