Jammu and Kashmir minister regrets bullets for stone pelters’ remarks

“There is only one remedy for them and that is bullets. And if not bullets, they should be given punishments like the youths who are beaten with sticks by forces. Take my word that next time they (the youth) won’t throw stones,” the J-K minister was quoted as saying by the local media.

Jammu and Kashmir industries and commerce minister Chander Prakash Ganga, who stoked a controversy by calling for use of bullets on stone pelters in the valley, on Friday expressed regret over his comments.

Stone pelting is a common form of protest in the Kashmir valley with 2,690 cases registered in 2016, according to the state government figures (AFP Photo)

“If anyone is hurt by my statement, I express regret over it,” he said in a video statement.

The minister’s statement came after a meeting between BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav and PDP leaders in Jammu on a range of issues, including Ganga’s controversial statement, which had led to public bickering between the alliance partners PDP and BJP.

Ganga had reportedly called stone pelters as ‘traitors’.

“There is only one remedy for them and that is bullets. And if not bullets, they should be given punishments like the youths who are beaten with sticks by forces. Take my word that next time they (the youth) won’t throw stones,” he was quoted as saying by the local media.

The BJP leader said his statement was twisted out of context by certain sections of media.

On Thursday, speaking to Hindustan Times over phone, Ganga, BJP MLA from Vijaypur, had said, “the video which has gone viral on social sites has been doctored. I had said the enemies of the country, either from Pakistan or internal, should be dealt with sternly and for them bullet for bullet should be the approach. I had spoken about Farooq Abdullah, who termed stone-throwers as nationalist. The video is doctored.”