Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday slammed senior Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar for questioning the survivors’ accounts that the Pahalgam terrorists asked the religion of the victims before killing them.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Wadettiwar said, “We are being told that the terrorists ascertained the religion of the victims and then killed them. Do terrorists have so much time to go close to someone and whisper in their ears? It is highly controversial because some are claiming such things did happen while others are denying it. Do not plan anything around it. Terrorists do not have caste or religion.” He added that the government must take responsibility of the attack. “Why was security not there? Was there no intelligence failure? Is this not the failure of the government? No one is talking about that,” he said.
Fadnavis slammed Wadettiwar. “Such statements are like rubbing salt in the wounds of the victims’s relatives. This is very bad. I don’t know whether to call this stupidity,” Fadnavis said.
“It has been repeatedly proven that Hindus are targeted in Kashmir, so in which world is Wadettiwar living? By claiming that terrorists have no caste or religion, who is Wadettiwar trying to please,” Bawankule asked. “By his statement, Wadettiwar is making a disgusting attempt to shield terrorists and provide them protection. This is not just irresponsibility, it’s a clear example of an anti-national mindset,” he said, adding that every Indian who loves the country must condemn such remarks.
Wadettiwar also came under attack from Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora, who said when Indians are killed by terrorists in Pahalgam, Wadettiwar’s first instinct is to defend Pakistan “just like when he claimed that Pakistani bullets didn’t kill Hemant Karkare during 26/11”. The party protested outside its headquarters against Wadettiwar.
The Congress leader, however, later issued a clarification. “The terrorists came and they killed our people. If they have ascertained their religion before killing them, they did it with a purpose to destabilise the country. Their aim is start a fight between two major communities in India and eventually cause major losses,” Wadettiwar said.