Soldiers, their families bearing brunt of BJP’s wrong policies: Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked the government to take full responsibility for the repeated security lapses and ensure strict action against the culprits
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over back-to-back terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and said soldiers and their families were bearing the brunt of its wrong policies even as he underlined that the entire country stands united against terrorism in the hour of grief.
In a post on X after four soldiers were killed in the sixth major terror attack in the Jammu region this year, Gandhi asked the government to take full responsibility for the repeated security lapses and ensure strict action against the culprits harming the country and the soldiers. He said it was the demand of every patriotic Indian.
Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, wrote it was extremely sad and worrying that such horrific incidents were happening one after the other. He added the continuous terrorist attacks reflect how bad the situation is in Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge called for a “careful recalibration” in security strategy amid the spate of terror attacks while blaming the government for acting as if everything is “business as usual” and nothing has changed.
He emphasised that national security cannot be endangered by indulging in “false bravado, fake narratives, and high-decibel whitewashing.”
Kharge said no words of strong and unequivocal condemnation will suffice for these acts of violence being perpetrated by cowardly terrorists. “They [the government] must know that increasingly Jammu region is bearing the brunt of these attacks,” he said in a post on X. He called for the need to collectively fight the scrouge of cross-border terrorism. “The Indian National Congress stands strongly with our valiant Armed Forces.”
He said their hearts go out to the families of four soldiers, including an officer, killed in Doda. Kharge added the four made the supreme sacrifice in the service of Bharat Mata. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured, and we wish a speedy and complete recovery.”
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said there is no accountability even though almost 50 soldiers have lost their lives in the last 32 days. She called for the sacking of Jammu and Kashmir Police chief RR Swain. Mufti said previous police chiefs did good work but this is the first time that work is being done on communal lines.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said there have been 11 terror attacks in the last 78 days in Jammu alone. “This is a wholly new development. While we must demonstrate an effective collective response cutting across political parties, the question must also be asked: what happened to all those grand claims made by the self-anointed non-biological PM and the self-styled Chanakya?” Ramesh said on X, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.
A firefight was triggered when terrorists fired at a joint Rashtriya Rifles and Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operations Group team involved in a cordon and search operation. The attack on Monday was the second in the Doda district since Tuesday last when an exchange of fire broke out between security forces and terrorists during a search operation. A day earlier, terrorists lobbed hand grenades and fired with automatic weapons at an army truck passing through Badnota village, around 250km away from the Doda firefight site, at Kathua in the Jammu region on Monday last.
Terror activity in areas south of the Pir Panjal mountains, which divide Jammu and Kashmir regions, including the Rajouri-Poonch sector, has spiked during the last two years. Seven soldiers were killed in counterterror operations in the Kashmir Valley last year compared to 20 in the Rajouri-Poonch sector.
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