A video of the wailing mother of Captain Shubham Gupta, who sacrificed his life in the line of duty during a recent encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri, has gone viral in which she is seen being surrounded by some people with cheques while she says, "Pradarshani mat lagao" (Stop this exhibition)". She pleads with grief to those around her to not make the occasion a "photo-op" to which they pay no heed and continue clicking pictures. The act has drawn massive criticism from the opposition.
The video was shared by Congress and AAP among others on social media.
"Vultures," the Congress said in the caption of the video. AAP said, "Have some shame, BJP people. For BJP, Army is not a matter of 'respect' but of 'propaganda'‼️"
UP Minister Yogendra Upadhyay was present at the house of the martyred soldier holding a cheque to his mother. In the video, the officer's mother could be seen resisting but the minister insisted while holding the cheque for the cameras.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP took to X and shared the video calling the UP minister and others present in the video "heartless, insensitive and shameless"
"‘प्रदर्शनी न लगाओ’ the mother is pleading while inconsolable yet the minister continues with his photo op. What shamelessness is this? Won’t even allow the martyr family to grieve in peace minus the cameras. Heartless," she said.
Captain Shubham Gupta was one of the five army personnel killed in a two-day encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri. According to an India Today report, Captain Gupta joined the Army in 2015 and got commissioned into the ninth battalion of the Army's elite Parachute regiment, more popularly known as the 9 Para SF (Special Forces) in 2018.
The other four soldiers were Captain MV Pranjal, Havildar Abdul Majid, Lance Naik Sanjay Bisht and Paratrooper Sachin Laur.
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