Kashmir Migrant Death: Amidst heightened political fervour in Jammu and Kashmir, the opposition parties on Thursday unleashed criticism against the Centre following an incident where migrant labour from Bihar fell victim to terrorism in J&K’s Anantnag district, just a day before polling in Udhampur.
Congress MP Manish Tewari condemned the attack, attributing it to the “failure of Central government”. He said, “Extremely unfortunate what has happened. It's regrettable and it is a failure of the central government because Jammu and Kashmir is a union territory and the central government must walk the extra mile.”
“The union territory administration must ensure that the lives of people who have gone to work in that state and who are contributing to the economy of that state are protected,” the Congress MP was quoted as saying by ANI.
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav echoed similar sentiments, calling for an investigation into the matter.
“Extremely unfortunate what has happened. The administration must look into this matter and find out why such incidents happen,” he told reporters.
RJD leader and Saran Lok Sabha candidate, Rohini Acharya, reacting to the incident, advocated for government compensation for the victim’s family.
“A compensation should be provided by the government. We will also raise our voices for this,” she told reporters.
Expressing condolences, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad assured that "perpretrators would be swiftly dealth with".
Grief Grips Bihar's Banka As Family Mourns Son Killed By Terrorists In J&K's Anantnag
Lamenting the loss of her younger son, the mother of the migrant labour shot dead by terrorists in J&K's Anantnag said, "He was my younger son. He said that he would come home on the 30th.
"At night we received the call; what will we do now? There is no one behind us," she told ANI.
Meanwhile, Rajoun Circle Officer Kumari Sushma pledged support to the grieving family. "On behalf of the district administration, we have come here...For the funeral, we have been told to assist them...As of now, we have received the information that it (the dead body) will be sent from there."
The incident occurred when terrorists opened fire on Raju Shah in Bijbehara, Anantnag, marking the second target in the region within 10 days. Despite being rushed to hospital, Shah succumbed to his injuries.
Police swiftly responded to the attack, cordoning off the area and launching a search operation.
BJP’s J&K unit termed the attack as a “manifestation of adversaries’ frustration”.
“Urge police to track down the killers of this innocent man and punish them sternly,” BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur said in a statement.
April 19 Polling In J&K
With polling scheduled for April 19 in Udhampur, the incident has injected a sombre tone into the battleground. Union Minister Jitendra Singh, seeking re-election, faces stiff competition from Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh in what promises to be a closely contested battle in the first major electoral showdown since J&K’s bifurcation in 2019.