‘Repeat of Pulwama attack’: Rajya Sabha MP questions Centre over Poonch ambush

‘Do you want to seek votes again in 2024 as you did in 2019 after the Pulwama terror attack?’ Sanjay Raut said.

In a statement which is likely to draw sharp reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Friday compared the Thursday Poonch ambush incident with the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 and questioned the motive of the central government.

An Indian Army vehicle after being ambushed by terrorists, in Poonch district on Thursday. (PTI)

Sanjay Raut's statement comes even as security forces on Friday launched a massive cordon and search operation in the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, a day after four army personnel were killed and three others injured in a terrorist attack.

An official said aerial monitoring is also being conducted and sniffer dogs have been pressed into service to track down the terrorists who ambushed two Army vehicles in the area Thursday afternoon.

Reacting to the terrorist attack in Poonch, Sanjay Raut said, "Yesterday's terrorist attack in Poonch is a repeat of the Pulwama attack. The government is sleeping. Do you (BJP) again want to do politics on the sacrifice by our jawans? Do you want to seek votes again in 2024 as you did in 2019 after the Pulwama terror attack? If we ask questions about the Poonch incident, then they will throw us out of Delhi or the country."

The Pulwama attack was one of the deadliest terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred. The Pulwama attack happened on February 14, 2019, when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. The attack also left many critically wounded.

The Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed the responsibility for the attack. The police had identified the suicide bomber as Adil Ahmed alias Waqas Commander from Kakapora in Pulwama.

Sanjay Raut added that miscreants intruded into the Parliament but the government had no knowledge about it.

"The government is celebrating the abrogation of Article 370 and see what has happened. This is a serious issue. In the last two months just see how many soldiers have been killed. They don't allow the Parliament to function. When we questioned Parliament's intrusion they removed us from Parliament," he added.

Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah said that terrorism has not ended in the Union territory.

Speaking to news agency ANI on Thursday in Srinagar about the latest terror attack, the National Conference president said,"...Even today there is terrorism in J&K, there has just been an incident. Terrorism has not ended. They (central government) are only talking about boosting tourism in Kashmir. Even if one tourist gets shot, no one will come here."