Will Afzal Guru's Ghost Impact Jammu And Kashmir Elections As BJP, NC Spar Over His Execution?
More than 13 years after being executed in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, Afzal Guru is back. As the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Election is going to be held soon and political parties of all hues are back in action after more than ten years, they are engaged in a no-holds-barred slugfest. Bharatiya Janata Pary, known for its narrative on nationalism sent shockwaves when its spokesperson accused former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of trying to save the terrorist who was awarded the death sentence for his role in the 2001 Parliament attack.
BJP Slams Omar Abdullah
Triggering the debate over the sensitive issue, BJP Spokesperson Pradip Bhandari said that Abdullah had said he would not have allowed the hanging of Aafzal Guru to take place had he his ways. He added that Abdullah’s statement reflects the mindset of the opposition coalition of INDIA. He went on to say that the Congress Party, its leader Rahul Gandhi and Omar Abdullah continue to support terrorists.
Claiming that not a single incident of stone-pelting has occurred in the last ten years since the BJP came to the power, the party spokesperson said that the incidents of terrorist activities have come down considerably.
#WATCH | On JKNC Vice President Omar Abdullah's remark on Afzal Guru, BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari says, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for Jammu and Kashmir has been a vision of development. It has been a vision which has ensured that there is no terror or… pic.twitter.com/R080YYCoiJ
— ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2024
What Did Omar Abdullah Say?
Talking to ANI, Omar Abdullah said “The Jammu and Kashmir government had nothing to do with Afzal Guru's execution, otherwise you would have to do with the state government's permission, which I can tell you in no uncertain terms would have been forthcoming. I don't believe any purpose was served by executing him.”
BJP Questions Congress
The saffron party has raked up the issue of terrorism time and again and used it as a political weapon to hit hard at Congress and other so-called secular parties. It has accused the grand old party of Indian politics of hobnobbing with terrorists, compromising on terrorism and national security. As Jammu and Kashmir is going to polls soon, the issue of terrorism and national security has come back.
According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh voters and the union territory is going to polls for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370.
Spiraling Terrorism In Jammu-Kashmir
The issue of terrorism and the execution of Afzal Guru has come at a time when the area has witnessed a spate of terrorist activities despite the BJP's claim of the opposite.
Spate Of Terrorist Activities
There were four incidents of terror attacks in the Jammu region during June 9-12, 2024. Terrorists stopped a bus and killed innocent civilians in Reasi, a gun battle took place in a village in Kathua near the international border where two militants and a Central Reserve Police Force officer were killed. In two separate attacks on checkpoints at Gandoh and Chattergala in Doda district, seven security personnel were injured.
It became clear by these attacks that the terrorist outfits have changed their strategy and areas of operations. The attacks also indicate a broadening of their objectives and a significant geographical shift. The terrorist outfits have deployed advanced tactics such as tunneling beneath border fences, and technologies such as iridium satellite phones and thermal imagery. It also shows how technologically advanced they are.
TRF Behind Terrorist Activities?
It is also important that most of the attacks have been carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), a group raised and supported by Pakistan. Islamabad raised this outfit taking members of banned groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and other outfits to create confusion. TRF is believed to be behind the Reasi bus attack. The outfit wants to send a strong signal that the assault is the ‘beginning of a renewed start’.
