Amid growing public outcry and grief, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to grant martyr status to the victims of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. The deadly assault, which occurred on April 22 in Anantnag district, left 26 people—most of them tourists—dead and several others wounded.

Taking to social media platform X, Rahul Gandhi expressed deep sorrow and aligned himself with the sentiments of the grieving families. "I stand with the families of those killed in the Pahalgam attack in their grief and in their demand for martyr status to them. The prime minister is requested to respect the sentiments of the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy by giving this honour to them," the Congress leader posted in Hindi.

On Wednesday, Gandhi personally visited the family of Shubham Dwivedi, one of the victims, in Kanpur. The visit, which highlighted the human toll of the attack, also brought to the forefront the demands of the families seeking formal recognition of the deceased as martyrs.

Speaking to reporters, Gandhi shared a poignant message: “I met a victim's family in Kanpur. They asked me to send a message to Narendra Modi. On behalf of all those families, I want to tell the prime minister — ‘Prime Minister, they have said that our children have been martyred. We want you to give them the status of a martyr and give them respect.’”

Reinforcing the opposition’s stance, the Congress MP from Rae Bareli said they are pushing for a special session of Parliament to address the matter and ensure justice for those killed in the attack.