Assam CM Himanta Sarma's dig on Rahul Gandhi after Pahalgam attack: ‘No room for caste politics’
Maintaining that people of all religions were safe under the BJP government, Sarma urged everyone to unite in the fight against terrorism.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday alleged the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, was trying to divide Hindus based on castes. Sarma said that the terrorists who perpetrated the attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam just wanted to know the religion of the victims.
Addressing a panchayat poll rally in Hojai, Sarma said there was no room for caste-based politics in the country at the moment.
"But the terrorists did not ask the caste, they asked only whether the target was a Hindu or not. There is no room for caste politics. 'Ek rahenge toh safe rahenge' (we will be safe if we stay united)," PTI quoted Sarma as saying.
Sarma claimed that terrorists earlier didn't ask about the religion of their targets, but they did that in Pahalgam. He asked if being a Hindu was a crime, adding that such acts were not acceptable.
"Terrorists earlier never asked about the religious identities of their targets, but in Pahalgam, victims were asked about their faith. When they replied that they were Hindus, the men were shot dead right in front of their wives. Is it a crime to be a Hindu? Hindus have been in India for 5,000 years and will remain here. Such acts are not acceptable," he asserted.
Maintaining that people of all religions were safe under the BJP government, Sarma urged everyone to unite in the fight against terrorism.
"Hindus and Muslims have to fight terrorism together, have to work together," he said.
The Pahalgam terror attack
A group of terrorists opened fire at tourists near Pahalgam in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, killing 25 Indians and 1 Nepali national.
The attack has resulted in diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) suspending the Indus Water Treaty, along with expelling some diplomats and closing the Attari border.
Pakistan on Thursday announced the closure of its airspace for Indian carriers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to avenge the deaths, saying that the terrorists will get punished ‘beyond their imagination’.
