Haryana MP Jangra’s attack on terror victim women appalling

THE remarks of BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Ram Chander Jangra about the Pahalgam terror victims — blaming women for not displaying “bravery” and equating them with a lack of heroic spirit — are appalling, insensitive and shameful. That a sitting MP could look at a tragedy that claimed 26 lives and choose to disparage the victims instead of mourning their loss is a profound reflection of the erosion of empathy in public discourse.

Jangra’s comments symbolise a political culture where outrage is weaponised for mileage. For, this is not a one-off instance. We are witnessing a pattern where ruling party leaders, emboldened by impunity, make inflammatory and cruel statements targeting the vulnerable. A few days ago, former Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Kunwar Vijay Shah made the outrageous claim that a woman Army officer — tasked with briefing the media during Operation Sindoor — was a “sister” of the terrorists, simply because of her religion. Such communal innuendo, especially during a moment of national grief, is unconscionable. And while such voices get away with venom, others are silenced for far less. Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad of Ashoka University in Haryana’s Sonepat, was swiftly arrested (and granted bail four days later) for a social media post that neither incited violence nor carried malice, but was deemed offensive by a ruling establishment hypersensitive to dissent. The hypocrisy could not be more stark.

Is this the new normal? A mere distancing – as in Jangra’s case — or half-hearted apology without accountability – as made by Shah — will not suffice. The Prime Minister and BJP leadership must act — not for optics, but out of respect for the republic they serve. If shame no longer restrains and indecency is rewarded by silence, then the rot is not in individuals alone — it has seeped into the system. And that should alarm us all.

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