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Haryana BJP MP's shocking remark on Pahalgam terror attack victims: ‘Women should’ve fought back'
The BJP MP said that the women, who lost their husbands in the terror attack, "lacked" the spirit of warrior women.
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Ram Chander Jangra courted controversy after he said that partners of tourists who were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack should have put up a fight against the terrorists.
Twenty-six people were killed in the terror attack in Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district on April 22, with terrorists targeting only men, many of whom were with their wives.
Addressing a gathering in Bhiwani in an event to mark the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, the BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana said that the women who lost their husbands in the attack should have acted like 'veerangna' (warrior women), according to PTI.
The BJP MP said that the women, who lost their husbands in the terror attack "lacked" the spirit of the warrior women.
"'Wahan par jo hamari veerangnay behane 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' (Women, who lost their husbands, did not have the spirit and vigour. Therefore, they became victims of the attack)," Jangra was quoted as saying by PTI.
"'Lekin haath jodne se koi chhodta nahin. Hamare aadmi vahan par haath jodkar maare gaye. (Terrorists do not leave one with requests. Our people died with folded hands)," he added.
Jangra also claimed that the number of casualties would have been less had the tourists undergone the Agniveer training.
"'Agar yaatri training pass kiye hote, to teen ugarvaadi 26 logon ko nahin mar sakte the' (Had our tourists passed the training then three terrorists could not have killed 26 people)," the BJP MP said, according to PTI.
Later, in response to a question, he stated that if the tourists had fought back, there would have been fewer casualties.
"Bilkul ladna chahihye tha. Aur agar ladte, to kam shahadat hoti aur kam log maare jaate. Haath jodne se kaun chhodta hai? Wo to maarne ke liye aaye the...Vo to aatankvaadi the. Unke dil mein daya thodi thee. (Had they (tourists) fought, the casualties would have been less. They [terrorists] had come with an intention to kill people. They did not have mercy)," Jangra said, according to PTI.
Opposition leaders react
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda strongly condemned Jangra’s remarks, saying they are extremely despicable.
“In the Pahalgam attack, terrorists devastated the lives of those women by killing their husbands. Now, this BJP MP from Haryana, Ramchandra Ji, is attacking their dignity,” Hooda wrote on X.
“This is an extremely despicable remark. BJP continues to insult the families of martyrs, and this must be stopped,” he added.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also condemned Jangra’s remarks, calling them unacceptable.
“Even the word ‘condemnable’ would itself object to being used for the vile remark made by the BJP MP about the women victims of the Pahalgam attack,” Yadav wrote on X.
“Instead of revering women, the BJP's real face is one of insulting, vilifying, and subjecting women to every possible form of exploitation and oppression. It is both grotesque and deeply shameful. BJP is not just a political party, it is a cesspool of anti-women mentality."
