Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], September 13 (ANI): Congress leader Vikas Upadhyay on Sunday accused the BJP of taking political credit for the BRICS Summit's condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, questioning what concrete measures had been decided to eliminate terrorism and ensure action against those responsible.
Reacting to the New Delhi Declaration adopted at the BRICS Summit 2026, Upadhyay said that merely condemning terrorism could not be termed a diplomatic achievement unless concrete steps were taken to curb terrorist activities.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party is taking credit for the resolution condemning terrorism adopted at the BRICS summit. The government needs to explain when we will be free from terrorism; what specific measures were decided at that summit to eliminate it? When will the perpetrators of the Pahalgam attack be punished?" he told ANI.
Upadhyay questioned the government's claim of a diplomatic success and said true diplomacy should focus on preventing terrorist activities and ensuring action against those responsible for attacks.
"The BJP labels this as diplomacy, whereas true diplomacy regarding the nation involves curbing terrorist activities. Had there been a discussion on concrete steps to achieve that, I would have considered it a positive development. The BJP is merely calling this diplomacy for the sake of propaganda and marketing," he added.
The Congress leader's remarks came after BRICS leaders unanimously adopted the New Delhi Declaration 2026 at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. The declaration strongly condemned the April 22, 2025, terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, in which 26 people were killed and called for zero tolerance towards terrorism.
Earlier at the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the adoption of the declaration as a reflection of a BRICS that is “wider in reach and stronger in purpose”.
In a series of posts on X, PM Modi said the declaration focuses on innovation, sustainability and people-to-people ties, with the aim of making cooperation “more practical, development-oriented and responsive to the aspirations of the BRICS nations”.“I thank all the fellow BRICS nations and their leaders for its adoption,” the Prime Minister said.
The 18th BRICS Summit is being held in New Delhi on September 12-13, with India's chairship centred on resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability. (ANI)
"BJP merely calling this diplomacy for sake of propaganda and marketing": Congress Vikas Upadhyay
