Ranchi, May 6 : Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has held the Centre responsible for the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's (J&K) Pahalgam in which 26 lives were lost, alleging a serious Intelligence and security lapse.

Speaking at the ‘Samvidhan Bachao Rally’ organised by the Congress at the old assembly ground in Ranchi on Tuesday, Kharge said the central government had itself admitted to an Intelligence failure during an all-party meeting. “If they have accepted their mistake, they should also take responsibility for the lives lost in the attack,” he said.

Kharge said media reports indicated that the government had received Intelligence inputs about a possible terrorist strike in Kashmir three days before the incident.

“They cancelled their own visit, but failed to make proper security arrangements for tourists. The area should have been secured with police and Border Security Force deployment,” he added.

He reiterated that the Congress fully supports any action the government takes against terrorism.

“We will stand with the government if it takes strong steps against Pakistan. The country comes first -- religion and caste come after,” he said.

Kharge also asserted that the Centre’s decision to conduct a caste-based census was a result of pressure by the Congress.

“Rahul Gandhi raised this issue nationally. Initially, the BJP opposed us, accusing us of dividing society, but today they have accepted our demand. The caste column has been included in the census,” he said.

He said the Congress has sent a letter to Prime Minister Modi with three key demands, which are: A meeting with all parties to build consensus on the model of the caste census, to be initiated at the earliest; reservation for the poor, Dalits, tribals, and Backward Classes in private institutions under Article 15(5) of the Constitution and removal of the 50 per cent cap on reservations.