The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena wrote to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday extending its unconditional support to any decision by the Modi government to counter the terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam town.
However, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s Lok Sabha MP informed Rijiju that he’ll not be able to attend the all-party meeting to be presided over by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh due to what he termed “unavoidable circumstances”.
“Received your message about today’s all-party meeting, but regret to inform you that I will not be able to attend the meeting due to unavoidable circumstances. But I assure you on behalf of the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray-led Shiv Sena that at this crucial juncture and when 28 innocent tourists have been killed in the attack by terrorists, we stand firmly with the decisions and action initiated by the Government of India to counter this cowardly, dastardly attack,” Sawant wrote to Rijiju.
Yet, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s daily Marathi newspaper ‘Saamna’ published an editorial sharply criticising the BJP government and its Kashmir policy. The ‘Saamna’ editorial claimed that the latest attack on tourists in Pahalgam on Tuesday was “the result of an intelligence failure” and that terrorism being borne by the state of Jammu & Kashmir would not go away simply by threatening Pakistan.
The ‘Saamna’ editorial stated that the scrapping of Article 370, which provided special status to the erstwhile state, has not ended violence in the Kashmir Valley, where Hindus are still being targeted.
According to the ‘Saamna’ editorial, the BJP celebrated a “political festival” after Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked in 2019, but left Hindus in the lurch, without resolving the security threat from Pakistan.
The editorial stated that since August 5, 2019, as many as 197 security personnel, 135 civilians, and 700 terrorists have been killed in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Terrorists struck Pahalgam in south Kashmir on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people, in the latest terror attack. “Where is National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, who poses as James Bond?” the ‘Saamna’ daily’s editorial asked.
“After the Pulwama strike in 2019, the Pahalgam attack has revealed the failure of intelligence agencies,” the editorial noted.
The editorial stated that the BJP sought West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation for violence against Hindus in her state, but the BJP is not willing to accept responsibility for the massacre of Hindus in Pahalgam, the ‘Saamna’ editorial stated.
The editorial also pointed out how Prime Minister Narendra Modi lied when he said that the 2016 demonetisation would “break the backbone” of terrorism and how Union Home Minister Amit Shah had claimed that terrorism had ended in the Kashmir Valley after Article 370 was nullified. “Yet blood is being shed there every day,” the editorial stated.
“There are no signs of violence ending in the Kashmir Valley. Hindus are still being targeted, and promises made to displaced Kashmiri Pandits have not been kept. On the contrary, Hindus are fleeing the Kashmir Valley. The BJP, which claims to be the messiah of Hindus, should be ashamed of itself,” the ‘Saamna’ editorial stated.
“The Centre governs Jammu and Kashmir through the Lieutenant Governor, but the cries and wails from Pahalgam have made it evident how inefficient that has been. The issues are not going to get resolved by simply threatening Pakistan. This will only make bhakts (BJP supporters) feel good for some time,” the ‘Saamna’ editorial stated.
“Who will protect Hindus? It is their (the BJP’s) business to cry and wail after Hindus die and then blame Pakistan. This happened even after the Pulwama attack,” the editorial stated.
The editorial attacked the BJP-led central government, even as it alleged that hatred along religious lines has been spread throughout the country in the last ten years.