The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday appealed to people across the country to join the mock drill to be conducted on May 7, an exercise the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all states and Union Territories (UTs) to undertake to prepare for any “hostile attack” amid heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.

In a post on social media platform X, the BJP said: “Appeal to all citizens, BJP Karyakartas and leaders, students to come forward and volunteer.”

“The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has directed all states to conduct mock drills on May 7 to ensure preparedness and effectiveness of civil defence mechanisms. Key components of the drill include activating air raid warning sirens, training civilians and students in self-protection during hostile attacks, implementing crash blackout measures, initiating early camouflage of critical infrastructure, and updating and rehearsing evacuation plans,” it said.

“Your participation will make all the difference,”it added.

BJP slams Mallikarjun Kharge for swipe at PM Modi

Meanwhile, the BJP has slammed Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge for alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled his trip to Jammu and Kashmir due to an adverse intelligence days before the Pahalgam attack on April 22.

BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Kharge has joined the “brigade” of his party leaders making controversial remarks on the issue of national security, instead of controlling them.

“What kind of comments is he making! On the one hand, he says in the (all-party) meeting that they are standing with the country, on the other, he is trying to weaken the country,” Prasad told reporters.

While speaking at a public meeting in Ranchi, Kharge had alleged that Modi cancelled his visit to J&K for a government programme visit after “receiving an intelligence report three days before” the Pahalgam terror attack.

“I got information that three days before the attack, an intelligence report was sent to Modi Ji, and that is why Modi Ji cancelled his visit to Kashmir…When an intelligence report says that it is not proper to visit there for your security, why did you not inform your security, intelligence, local police and border force to protect people? When you got the information, you cancelled your programme but did not send more forces to protect tourists there… ,” Kharge alleged.