Leaders’ silence gets social media talking

NEW DELHI: The political class came under criticism on social media for its silence on the widespread violence in Kashmir. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Congress

NEW DELHI: The political class came under criticism on social media for its silence on the widespread violence in Kashmir. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, users attacked leaders for not reacting to the violent incidents that followed the killing of militant Burhan Wani.

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With the exception of Congress president Sonia Gandhi who issued a statement on Monday, top leaders from most parties remained silent. “There can be no compromise on matters relating to national security. Terrorism must be dealt with firmly and forcefully,” Sonia said. “Even so, the death of so many of our brethren is very painful. The political process has made many gains in J-K over the last two decades particularly and these must not get lost.”

Rahul, whose last public statement was a message for Eid on July 7, was also criticised on Twitter.

While Modi is on a five-day, four-nation tour of Africa, he has tweeted regularly on his itinerary and bilateral meetings with different heads of states. He has spoken on a variety of issues at home but not the situation in Kashmir. “We must condemn those who give shelter to terrorists and use them as political instruments,” Modi said at the University of Nairobi on Sunday.

Parallels were drawn with the fact that US President Barack Obama was in Europe when the Dallas killings took place but he instantly spoke out. “PM Modi should make a statement on Kashmir violence from Africa. Would be the right thing to do — and optics do matter,” author Minhaz Merchant tweeted.