Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 2: Leaders of all major political and social organizations in Jammu and Kashmir today condemned the killing of five innocent civilians by the terrorists in Dangri village of Rajouri last evening and slammed the J&K LG administration for its failure to weed out terrorism and establish peace in the Union Territory. Meanwhile, protests were also held in various parts of Jammu province demanding stringent action against the culprits.
Condemning the attack, former chief minister and chairman of Democratic Azad Party (DAP) Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “I am deeply concerned and saddened to see the resurfacing of militant activities in Rajouri district for two consecutive days in which 6 precious lives including children have been lost and 15 injured, which is matter of great concern for each one of us.” He demanded the J&K Government to address the overall security situation promptly with great seriousness keeping in view the resurfacing of militant activities and trace out the militants responsible as early as possible.
Expressing his shock and grief over the innocent killings, BJP National general secretary Tarun Chugh said it was a cowardly act by the Pakistan-based militants who are basically disturbed at the recent development and growth of the Union Territory. Chugh said Pakistan is disturbed to see guns and stones being replaced by books and computers in the hands of the J&K youth. It is time the Pakistan agents understand it comprehensively that the Modi Government would not spare any effort to bring a new culture of progress and prosperity to the region.
MP Rajya Sabha Gulam Ali Khatana, while strongly condemned the gruesome terrorist attack, said such attacks were aimed at disturbing the peace prevailing in the UT. He said Government of India is committed to restore peace and tranquility in J&K and such cowardly attempts won’t derail the Government’s resolve to defeat the enemies of peace. Hee extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and urged the UT administration to extend best possible medicare to the injured.
Condemning the killing of innocent persons, former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said terrorists do not discriminate between their victims, whether they are Hindus or Muslims. He said the atmosphere of hatred was responsible for the killing of innocents. The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar said that according to the BJP Government at the Centre, terrorism in J&K was due to Article 370, but they were mistaken. “Have they been able to end terrorism? Four years have passed since J&K was made a Union Territory,” he said.
NC vice president Omar Abdullah questioned the authorities for allegedly not following the standard operating procedure in the aftermath of the Sunday gunfire incident. “Deeply shocked as more details emerge of this targeted attack in Rajouri district. I unequivocally condemn this heinous attack and send my condolences to the families of the deceased,” he tweeted.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti too condemned the killings and attacked the BJP for its “bogus claims” of ending militancy in the region. “Condemn this cowardly act & condolences to their families. Despite being under BJP rule & its bogus claims of ending militancy, violence continues unabated. Had J&K had its own elected government, the same media would have hauled them over the coals,” she tweeted. Mufti also accused the BJP of leveraging Hindus’ deaths for political gains and appealed to the people to retain their brotherly spirit.
Altaf Bukhari-led Apni Party (AP) called it a “cowardly and dastardly attack.” “Such heinous acts are condemned in the strongest possible terms. We stand in solidarity with the civilians and pray for peace to the deceased, and strength to the bereaved,” the Party tweeted. Vice-president of AP Choudhary Zulfkar Ali said that the incident is highly condemnable and shows that the enemies of peace are desperate to damage communal harmony in the district.
Terming the incident as serious and shocking, JKPCC president Vikar Rasool Wani, working president Raman Bhalla, chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma and district president Shabir Ahmed Khan said the incident belies claims of the Government and the security heads regarding the ground situation. The Party expressed sympathies with the families of victims and with the injured and demanded ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh to the families of those killed and Rs 10 lakh to each injured.
Condemning the ghastly terror attack, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta said, “After facing the heat of enhanced security grid in the Kashmir Valley, terrorists have now turned towards Jammu province and the Rajouri terror attack is the evidence of this fact.” He said that the Modi Government will not allow their mechanizations to disrupt peace in Jammu region.
Described the terror mayhem as an attack on the civilized way of life, unleashed by the neighbouring country, senior BJP leader Devender Singh Rana said such dastardly acts won’t deter the resolve of the people and determination of the nation in fighting terrorism to its end. He said the monster of terror is taking its last breath. He said the executors of Pakistan’s sinister plan will not go unpunished, as they have committed a heinous crime against humanity.
People’s Conference leader Sajad Lone in a tweet said: “Yet another carnage. This time in Rajouri. Condemn the cowardly act. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives.” “The perpetrators of this dastardly act will rot in hell,” he added.
Namrta Sharma, Women wing president of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), while strongly condemning the terror attack in Rajouri, slammed the BJP Government at the Centre and the UT administration for making false claims of normalcy in this terror tormented part of the nation. She said the Rajouri incident clearly shows the failure of the Government in taming terrorism.
Ex-MLA Jammu East and senior Congress leader Yogesh Sawhney also condemned the killing of civilians in Rajouri and condoled their demise during a party meeting in Jammu. The members present in the meeting observed two minutes of silence and prayed for the bereaved and their loved ones.
J&K National Panthers Party (JKNPP) president Vilakshan Singh expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the heinous attack. Singh said that terrorism is once again emerging in J&K. Hindus were selectively being killed in the 1990s by the terrorists but now once again the Hindus are being killed by the terrorists and BJP has utterly failed to ensure the safety of Hindus in J&K.
IkkJutt Jammu Party cadres led by their president Ankur Sharma today strongly protested at Press Club Jammu against yesterday’s targeted killings of Hindus the terrorists in Rajouri. Ankur Sharma asked LG J&K to apologize to the Hindus of Jammu for falsely claiming that Jammu is terrorism free. Sharma said the only solution to the problem of terrorism in J&K is new reorganization of J&K with division of Kashmir into two UTs and creation of a separate Jammu State.
Rattan Lal Gupta (NC Jammu provincial president) said, “These innocent killings are failure of the Centre/ UT Governments which had kept eyes and ears closed and making castles in air, which are miles away from the reality.” He expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.
On the call of the J&K High Court Bar Association, Jammu, the lawyers in large number took out procession in the court premises raising slogans against Pakistan and the anti-national forces responsible for the killings of innocent civilians in Rajouri. Speaking on the occasion, M K Bhardwaj said that J&K Government has failed to completely check the perpetrators of such attacks. The Association called upon the UT Government to take stern action against the anti-national forces as well as against the neighboring country Pakistan to prevent them from repeating similar acts in future.
Speaking during a protest rally against terrorist incidents at Dangri (Rajouri), chief spokesperson of Congress Party Ravinder Sharma strongly condemned the targeted killings of minorities in Dhangri. The rally marched through main bazar of the town, raising slogans against terrorism, Pakistan, and demanding strengthening of security network in the villages.
National Awami United Party (NAUP) president Sandeep Singh also condemned the coward killing of civilians in Rajouri district by militants. He said the dastardly act like that of Rajouri are unacceptable and need to be dealt with iron hands. The administration needs to take preventive/remedial steps at fast pace,” he added.
Condemning the terrorist attack, Chamber of Traders Federation (CTF) held a condolence meet at its office and prayed for ‘sadgati’ to the departed souls. Neeraj Anand (president CTF) urged the administration to deploy additional forces and take all such measures to instill sense of security amongst the people of the UT. All the office bearers demanded stern action against such inimical forces which target innocent civilians.
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Jammu condemned the Rajouri terrorist attack terming it another despicable act of violence by Pakistan and demanded adequate security arrangements in the Jammu Province also to deter such ghastly attempts by ultras in the future. CCI Jammu president Arun Gupta said that the situation in J&K has turned grim with terrorists now carrying out targeted killings at their will in Jammu region as well.
Gupta said that after the killing spree in the Valley wherein many lives perished under the targeted killing ploy of the terror outfits, the situation in Jammu province has become crucial and if the government will not take some out of the box steps, it will become difficult for the common man to live under such situation where fear psychosis is ruling the roost.
CCI President said that the Government should come up with a foolproof security strategy to ensure the safety of all, especially the Hindu community, which is by and large the main target of the ultras active in the UT. He said that there is need to further boost up security to instill confidence among the citizenry as after every terror attack whether in Kashmir region or Jammu people are losing faith in the security edifice in vogue in J&K.
PDP leader Arif Laigaroo while strongly condemning the civilians killings, urged the Government to identify and punish the perpetrators of these killings he expressed heartfelt condolences with the victim families. There can be no condemnation strong enough to condemn such killings,” he said while urging the Government to start a political dialogue.
Shiv Sena Hindustan J&K president Pandit Rajesh Kesari said that these cowardly terrorists are the children of animals and deserve treatment worst then animals. They are killing unarmed people by targeting them, instead of burning the effigies of such cowardly people, they should be put on fire publically, added Kesri.
Stating that Rajouri militant attack reflects utter failure of Central Government on security front, senior Congress leader Pranav Shagotra termed the innocent killings shameful and unacceptable. He expressed deep anguish over the innocent killings and urged the Government to identify the militants for exemplary punishment.
Shiv Sena J&K unit president Manish Sahni led a protest against Pakistan, at Roop Nagar in Jammu. The protesters burnt the effigy of the Pakistan Flag. Reacting strongly to the terrorist attack on Hindus in Dangri village of Rajouri, Sahni demanded the Central Government to teach a lesson of life to Pakistan for supporting terrorism in J&K.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders Raman Bhalla, Ravinder Sharma, Thakur Manmohan Singh and Amrit Bali, and Apni Party leaders Dr Rohit Gupta, Arun Kumar Chibber, Ajaz Kazmi and Bushan Uppal, who were today stopped by civil administration for heading towards Dangri village, slammed the administration for not allowing them to meet the victims of terror attacks. Congress leaders also held a protest at Dak Bungalow Rajouri against the unjustified action of the administration.
“The innocent target killings need to be stopped forthwith by adopting the ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’ which was successful during Azad Government in J&K, said RS Chib former minister and general secretary of DAP while expressing shock and serious concern over the tragic and barbaric incident of Rajouri. Provincial president of DAP Jugal Sharma also condemned the cowardly act.
Expressing condolence over this tragic loss of lives in terror act in district Rajouri, Senior AAP leader and DDC Member Suchetgarh Taranjit Singh Tony the senior AAP leader hit out at BJP Government at the Centre for not doing enough to provide security to minorities in J&K. He emphasized that the targeting killings in Rajouri is an alarming bell for the BJP Government at the Centre to act.
DAP Udhampur district president Ashwani Khajuria, provincial general secretary Brij Mohan, Pritam Kotwal and state secretary Preeti Khajuria also condemned the terrorist attack in Dangri village of Rajouri district.
Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrangdal held a protest against the target killing of Hindus at Village Dangari. The protest was led by Shakti Dutt Sharma (vice president of VHP, J&K and Ladakh), who asked the Government that some stern action should be taken to catch hold the terrorist who have done this act.
A protest against Rajouri attack was also held by various organizations at Reasi. The protesting people took out a march from Chowk Chabutra Reasi to Bus Stand Reasi while demanding strict punishment for the culprits of the cowardly attack.
Similar protests were held in Jammu by activists of Dogra Front and Shiv Sena headed by Ashok Gupta and activists of Mission Statehood led by Sunil Dimple. Both the leaders slammed J&K administration to establish peace in the UT.
All J&K PoJK 1947 Sharnarthi Intellectul Forum organized a condolence meeting of its core committee members under the presidentship of Advocate Amrik Singh. The Forum strongly condemned the gruesome and barbaric act of terrorist and demanded Government to sanction adequate compensation to the next of kin of victims.
Condemning the targeted killings in Rajouri, National Democratic Party Indian (NDPI) chief Rajesh Gupta, “The incident is very serious and shocking and belies claims of the Government and the security heads regarding the (improved) ground situation.” He demanded ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50 lakh each for the injured.
Kashmiri Pandit Conference (KPC) president Kundan Kashmiri termed the barbaric target killings in Rajouri a cowardice act and an attempt to disturb the communal harmony in the UT. He demanded the Government forces to take stringent measures to ensure safety and security of minorities in the UT.
Rashtriya Hindu Vahini J&K president Rajinder Hindu while condemning the innocent killings asked the Government to wake up from deep slumber and put an end to the targeted killing of members of minority community in J&K.
Jammu Kashmir Sharnathi Action Committee (JKSAC) also condemned Rajouri killings demanded Rs 50 lakh compensation for each grief stricken family and a Government job to the next kin of the deceased.
Anguished over the target killing of PoJK Displaced Persons by terrorists in Rajouri, chairman of SOS International, asked the Government to crush terrorism with iron hand and adequately compensate the victim families.
Jammu Muslim Front termed the incident as highly reprehensible and unfortunate while stressing that violence will yield nothing but only further death and destruction. Further, chairman of the Front appealed the masses to remain vigilant and forge unity to defeat the nefarious design of enemy.
Leaders of Muslim Federation Jammu condemned in strong words the act of terrorism and asked the UT Government to ensure the safety of security of its citizens. They demanded immediate measures to stop such selected killings.
Movement for Justice for Refugees of 1947 from POJK, said such type of targeted killings of unarmed civilians is barbaric and an inhumane act of frustration by militants. “Govt should take immediate steps to properly compensate the families who have lost their earning hands and also to those injured so that they may not further suffer for their livelihood,” the Organization said in a statement issued today.
Harmohinder Singh (president, Displaced Kashmiri Sikh Conference) while vociferously condemning the dastardly act by terrorists, criticized the current dispensation in J&K who failed to protect the lives of innocents in Rajouri.
Expressing anguish over the killings, president of KP Sabha Ambphalla KK Khosa appealed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to intervene to save the lives of minorities and other nationalists in J&K and prevent further loss of lives of the hapless innocents.
AIMCC leaders in a meeting held at Jagti township also condemned the gruesome attack and resultant killings. All Displaced Kashmiri United Front also expressed shock over the incident and condemned it strongly.
Representatives of various social organizations under the banner of Kashmiri Pandits United Front assembled today in Municipal Park Durga Nagar (Jammu) to pay ‘Shradhanjali’ to civilians killed by terrorists in Rajouri. A candle-light march was also taken out followed by observance of two-minute silence to pay homage to departed souls.
Condemning the terrorist attack, working president of Maharaja Gulab Singh Brigade (MGSB) J&K Anil Singh Rakwal along with Rajaey Singh Jawmal said that Government should come up with a foolproof security strategy to ensure the safety of all, especially the Hindu community, which is by and large the main target of the ultras active in the UT.
Arun Chowdhary (convener, PoJK Visthapit Sewa Samiti) along with his team took out a candle march in Rehari Colony area of Jammu to condemn the targeted killings in village Dangri. Chowdhary asked the Government to make security arrangements for minorities in J&K immediately and provide weapons to the VDC members.
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