'Request PM to honour sentiments': Rahul Gandhi backs demand for martyr status to Pahalgam victims

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give martyr status to the 26 victims of the deadly Pahalgam terrorist attack . Gandhi's appeal a day after the family of a Kanpur man, who died in the April 22 attack, told the Congress MP they wanted martyr status for all the victims.

The Congress MP visited the family of Shubham Dwivedi in Kanpur on Wednesday. On Thursday, he took to X and posted a video of his interaction with the Dwivedi family.

"I stand with the families of those killed in the Pahalgam attack in their grief and in their demand for martyr status. I request the Prime Minister to respect the sentiments of the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy by giving this honour to them," Gandhi captioned the post.

पहलगाम हमले में मारे गए लोगों के परिवारों के दुख में, शहीद के दर्जे की उनकी मांग में, मैं साथ खड़ा हूं।

प्रधानमंत्री से आग्रह है कि वो इस त्रासदी में जान गंवाने वालों को यह सम्मान देकर उनके परिवारों की भावना का आदर करें। pic.twitter.com/auMEehEnOO

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 1, 2025

In the video, Dwivedi's wife is heard telling Gandhi, "I don't want anything for myself, but for Shubham I want martyr status. Not just for him, for all the 26 people."

Sanjay Dwivedi, Shubham's father, told the Raebareli MP, "You can give us that (martyr status), you can talk to the government and the Prime Minister."

After meeting Gandhi, Sanjay Dwivedi had said, "I demand Shubham should be given the status of 'shaheed' (martyr). Rahul Gandhi said he had written a letter to the PM for a special session in parliament. (Rahul Gandhi's sister and Wayanad MP) Priyanka Gandhi talked to me and said my demands are right. She said - I'll put pressure on the government and talk to them at my level for giving the status of 'shaheed' to Shubham."