'Women In Pahalgam Lacked Heroic Qualities': BJP MP's Shocker
Appearing to criticise the grieving women who lost their husbands in the horrific terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam last month, a BJP MP said they became victims because they lacked heroic qualities, enthusiasm and zeal.
Airing his opinion days after his party colleague Vijay Shah, a minister in Madhya Pradesh, faced flak and apologised for his crass remarks on Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, Rajya Sabha MP Ram Chander Jangra also said the tourists should have fought back and would have been successful if they had received Agniveer training - referring to the scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
On April 22, 25 tourists and a ponywallah - who tried snatching a terrorist's gun to save people around him - were killed by five terrorists at the picturesque Baisaran meadow near Pahalgam. The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, had taken responsibility for the attack.
The terrorists had specifically targeted men, and videos emerging in the immediate aftermath of the attack had shown several women pleading for help, their wails echoing through the valley and etching themselves in the national consciousness.
But Mr Jangra appeared to have a different perspective while addressing a gathering in Haryana's Bhiwani during an event to mark the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, who was a brave and visionary 18th-century Maratha queen.
"Wahan (in Pahalgam) par jo hamari veerangnay behne thee, jinki maang ka sindoor chheen liya gaya, Veerangna ka bhaav nahin tha, josh nahin tha, jazba nahin tha, dil nahin tha, isliye haath jod ke goli ka shikaar ho gaye' (The women, who lost their husbands lacked the warrior spirit, enthusiasm and zeal. Therefore, they became victims of the attack)," Mr Jangra said.
"'Lekin haath jodne se koi chhodta nahin. Hamare aadmi vahan par haath jodkar maare gaye. (Terrorists do not spare anyone because they fold their hands. Our people died with folded hands)," he added.
Referring to training for the Agnipath scheme, Mr Jangra said in Hindi, "Had the tourists passed the training, three terrorists could not have killed 26 people... They should have definitely fought. If they had, the casualties would have been fewer."
Asked later how he expected the women to fight against terrorists, the MP said, "Ahilyabai Holkar was a woman, so was Rani Lakshmibai, did they not fight? We want our sisters to be brave and live courageously."
'Shameful Statement'
Hitting out at Mr Jangra's "shameful" remarks, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the BJP leaders are "continuously insulting the Indian Army and the martyrs".
Sharing a video of the address, he said, "This shameful statement of Rajya Sabha MP Ramchandra Jangra shows that the BJP, intoxicated with power, has become so insensitive that instead of blaming the security lapse for the sacrifice of the soldiers martyred in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the BJP MPs are raising questions on the martyrs and their wives."
"This statement is highly objectionable," he added.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said there is a limit to shamelessness.
"BJP MP Ram Chander Jangra is talking about the women who lost their husbands in the Pahalgam attack... There is a limit to shamelessness," she said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also attacked the BJP and said it is "not a party but a swamp of anti-women mentality".
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