Priyanka Gandhi cancels Lucknow press conference in the wake of Pulwama attack

Lucknow, Feb 14: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, who was supposed to interact with the media to today in Lucknow, cancelled her press briefing in the wake of terrorist attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama, which left around 40 jawans dead.

"We won't be discussing politics today because of the Pulwama attack. We shall now maintain two minutes of silence for the martyrs," Priyanka Gandhi said.

Priyanka, who has been given charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, has been in Lucknow since Monday to prepare the party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. On Monday, she launched the campaign with a massive roadshow for 'Mission UP', in her first ever visit to the state since her brother Rahul Gandhi named her as the party's general secretary last month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condemned the terrorist attack at a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama in strong words and said "sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain".

Around 40 jawans were killed and several injured when a suicide bomber rammed a Scorpio car laden with over 300 kg of explosives into a CRPF convoy in Awantipora town of Pulwama district today. The Jaish-e-Mohammad bomber, a Kashmiri local who carried out a suicide strike on a bus carrying CRPF jawans, had loaded his vehicle with over 300 kilograms of explosives.