Adhikari Should Visit Kashmir, Says BJP Leader Raina After Controversial Remarks By Party's Bengal Leader

BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari advised people of West Bengal to avoid Muslim-majority areas like Kashmir, sparking controversy.

BJP leader Ravinder Raina.

Source : PTI

As BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's remarks asking people of West Bengal not to visit Kashmir or any Muslim-majority area sparked a row, a senior leader of his party from J-K on Saturday said Adhikari should visit Kashmir to experience the patriotism and nationalism of its people for the country.

BJP’s national executive member and former president of J-K unit Ravinder Raina also reminded Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, that numerous youths of Kashmir have sacrificed their lives for the country in the fight against terrorism over the past three decades.

In his remarks, Adhikari said that people of Bengal should avoid visiting Kashmir or any other area with a large Muslim population for the sake of their security, and that they can go to Jammu or other states like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha. He said he was not speaking as a BJP MLA and that it was his personal view as a citizen.

The remarks came close on the heels of the recent visit of J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to the state as part of his efforts to revive tourism in the Valley, which was badly hit following the Pahalgam terror attack. Abdullah also met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and invited her to visit Kashmir.

“I would like to request Adhikari to come to Kashmir. He should come and see that every Kashmiri loves India. When the terrorists killed humanity in the meadows of Pahalgam on April 22, it was the people of Kashmir who reached the spot barefoot to rescue the injured tourists,” Raina said in a statement to PTI here.

“It was the people of Kashmir who sheltered the tourists and helped them reach their homes safely. Mohammad Maqbool Sherwani sacrificed his life in 1947 by hoisting the tricolour in Baramulla and gave the slogan ‘beware Pakistani attackers, we Kashmiris are ready’,” Raina said.

He said thousands of Kashmiri youths have sacrificed their lives for the security of the country, serving in various security agencies.

“There are so many Kashmiri activists (from the BJP) who achieved martyrdom fighting the terrorists. India lives in the heart of every citizen of Jammu and Kashmir and Jammu and Kashmir is in the heart of India. Every Indian should come to Jammu and Kashmir,” Raina said, inviting Adhikari and the people of West Bengal to visit the valley to experience the "patriotism and nationalism of local residents".

He said the people of J-K are true Indians. “This is our motherland and Kashmir is the crown of India. Every Kashmiri is our brother and they are our own.

"They have rendered numerous sacrifices for the country and if the tricolour is flying high in Kashmir proudly, it is because of the people of Kashmir,” Raina said.

Meanwhile, National Conference provincial president Rattan Lal Gupta condemned the “provocative and communally charged” remarks of Adhikari.

“Adhikari’s appeal... is not only appalling but also reflects the BJP’s persistent agenda of sowing communal discord. Such statements are not only a direct assault on the idea of India but also an insult to the composite culture and pluralistic ethos of Jammu and Kashmir,” Gupta said in a statement.

He said the people of Kashmir, regardless of their religion, have always welcomed tourists with open arms.

“Reducing the Valley to a religious demographic to incite fear and hatred is not only factually wrong but also highly irresponsible. Such rhetoric has the potential to damage the national fabric and cause deep fissures in society,” he asserted.

Calling the BJP’s approach a “politics of polarisation”, the senior NC leader alleged that the party thrives on Hindu-Muslim divisions by creating fear among communities.

The NC leader called upon the people of West Bengal and the entire nation to reject any such "hate-mongering" and instead embrace the spirit of unity, secularism and mutual respect.

Gupta appreciated the decision of Banerjee that she would visit Kashmir after Durga Puja and said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, both from Jammu and the Valley, want peace, progress and brotherhood, not communal poison.

He urged the BJP leadership to rein in its leaders and "stop weaponising religion for political gains". 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)