Raichur (PTI): Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "trivialising" the opposition, and criticised his absence from the all-party meetings convened after the Pahalgam terror attack.

Kharge said the prime minister's absence reflects his scant respect for the opposition.

Addressing a public gathering here, Kharge remarked that the country was going through a difficult phase.

"Recently, Pakistani terrorists killed 26 people in Pahalgam. In response, the Indian armed forces carried out strikes on terror facilities inside Pakistan and eliminated the terrorists," he said.

He alleged that while the entire nation and the armed forces worked in unison to defend the country, some individuals tried to take personal credit.

"Had they served in the Army as a captain, colonel, or lieutenant colonel, we would have appreciated them for doing a great job and fighting for the country. But that is not the case," Kharge said, without directly naming anyone.

Kharge was in Raichur along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Congress ministers, and MLAs, where he laid the foundation stone for several projects and presided over the naming ceremony of Raichur University.

The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said Congress was the first to demand an all-party meeting on the Pahalgam terror strike.

"When the meetings were convened twice, the prime minister failed to attend on both occasions. I want to ask him why he did not attend".

He noted that leaders from Kanyakumari to Kashmir had left behind important engagements to attend the meeting, yet the PM chose not to attend despite being in the country.

"Instead, he was busy campaigning for the Bihar elections. What does that mean? While the country and soldiers were fighting on one side, the prime minister chose to campaign on the other, after inviting us to an all-party meeting. This is inappropriate," Kharge said.

He warned that such an attitude does not bode well.

"If you try to belittle the opposition, the leaders, people, and especially the youth of this country will not tolerate it," Kharge cautioned.

Kharge also took a dig at the PM for his failure to stop the USA from imposing retaliatory taxes.

"Modi was shouting the slogan 'Phir Ek Baar Trump Sarkar' (during the US elections). This great man said this in America, but Trump imposed hefty taxes on Indian goods. The PM did not speak a word on it," Kharge said.

The Congress chief reminded the prime minister that Iran had always supported India as the country imports 50 per cent of its fuel requirement from there.

"Now there is an armed conflict going on between Iran and Israel. We should have made attempts to stop it," the veteran Congress leader said.

Kharge said Modi's only loud slogan is that he is going to be the "Vishwa Guru".

"Whether you are Vishwa Guru or Guru at Home, what people want is petrol, diesel, food, clothes and roof over head. We wanted him to strive for these things...," the Congress chief said.

Kharge also alleged the saffronisation of education.

"Today the RSS syllabus is being taught in the universities, Morarji Desai residential schools and Kendriya Vidyalayas," he alleged.

The Congress leader also claimed that everywhere, the RSS people are getting postings for their children while others are struggling for survival.

He also stated that the Congress party's guarantees are being implemented effectively across the country.

"Some jealous leaders and political parties are trying to undermine our guarantees. But they will not succeed in their efforts," he said.

Kharge added that criticising and defaming welfare initiatives that have directly benefited women and other citizens will not impress the people.

He claimed that the way the Congress government is striving for social justice, the BJP cannot do it anywhere in the country.