Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers have remained silent after Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya termed the Pulwama suicide attack an “accident”. Forty soldiers died on February 14 after a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy.

Singh on Tuesday had also described the attack as an “accident” after which several Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Ravi Shankar Prasad, criticised him. Singh had used the word “durghatna”, which could mean accident, tragedy or disaster.

“When I called the Pulwama terror attack an ‘accident’, Modi and three central ministers started calling me a Pakistani supporter,” Singh tweeted in Hindi. “Please listen to what Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has to say. Will Modi and his ministers like to say something about Maurya?”

In a video, Maurya can be heard saying that the Pulwama attack was not a security failure, ANI reported. “This is a big accident that has happened with our CRPF officers,” he told reporters.

In a series of tweets, Singh said several ministers wanted to file a case of sedition against him and challenged them to do so. “The tweet for which you and your minsters branded me a Pakistani supporter and traitor was sent from Delhi, where the police is under the central government. If you have the courage, please file a case against me,” he said.

Singh questioned the steps taken by the government in the aftermath of the attack. “What action has Modi taken over intelligence failure in the Pulwama terror attack so far? He is yet to inform the country about who is responsible for it,” the Congress leader tweeted. “Does Modi hold anyone responsible for this or not? Has he asked for a clarification from the NSA [National Security Advisor], IB [Intelligence Bureau] or the RAW [Research and Analysis Wing] chief?”

Singh on Tuesday had reiterated his demand that the Centre provide an explanation about the cross-border air strikes in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack.