Jammu, Apr 29: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader and spokesperson for Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Abhijeet Jasrotia, on Tuesday denounced what he described as “shameful political opportunism” by opposition parties in the aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre, where 26 innocent civilians lost their lives in a brutal terrorist attack.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Dr Jasrotia, joined by former MLC Girdhari Lal Raina and media in-charge Dr Pardeep Mahotra, expressed deep anguish over the statements made by leaders from the Congress and National Conference (NC).
“While the nation mourns and families struggle to cope with unspeakable loss, some political leaders are irresponsibly attempting to deflect attention from the tragedy by peddling misplaced narratives,” he said.
The spokesperson strongly criticised the alleged calls for dialogue with Pakistan and attempts to rationalise the terror attack. “This is not the time for political games. It is a time for national unity. To suggest that terrorists do not see religion is not only misleading but also an affront to the families who lost their loved ones—be they Hindu pilgrims or Kashmiri workers,” he remarked.
Calling out what he termed as “a betrayal of national sentiment”, Dr Jasrotia urged the opposition to reflect on the pain of the grieving families instead of offering indirect justifications for terrorism. “Go and look into the eyes of the widows of Pahalgam. Tell them their loss is due to political misunderstandings. The people of this country will not accept such insensitivity,” he said.
“Those who once justified the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits are now speaking the language of appeasement towards terrorist forces. History will not forgive those who play politics with the blood of martyrs. The sacrifice of the victims of Pahalgam must unite us against terrorism and its sympathisers,” he added.
Girdhari Lal Raina, in his address, said, “The barbaric terrorist attack on innocent and unarmed tourists in Pahalgam has reopened our wounds. No words are sufficient to condemn this assault on humanity. The silver lining, if any, is the voluntary expression of grief by even those who hesitated to come out in the open earlier. This speaks volumes about the change that Jammu Kashmir has undergone in recent years.”
Frustrated by this visible change, forces inimical to peace and prosperity and anti-India echo-system have activated the narrative controlling mechanism, Raina said. He alleged, “Old videos were circulated in a manner to create an impression that students from Kashmir were under threat in different parts of the country. This was to divert attention away from the heinous crime committed against humanity in Pahalgam.”
“It was a repeat of 1990 when ‘Jagmohan theory’ was propagated to divert focus from real perpetrators of the mass exodus of the entire religious minority of Kashmir,” Raina added.
The BJP leaders declared: “We will not allow their sacrifice to go in vain. India stands united against terror and those who seek to justify it in any form.”
‘Call them terrorists, not militants’
Denouncing the use of term “militant” for the enemies of humanity, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader and spokesperson for Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Abhijeet Jasrotia has urged the J&K administration, politicians and media to use the term “terrorists” for those who terrorise, kill the innocent and plot against the state.
Addressing a press conference here, Dr Abhijeet Jasrotia, accompanied by Aseem Gupta, Vice President and Dr Pardeep Mahotra, media in-charge, said the Pahalgam massacre was a heinous act that should be unequivocally condemned. He urged politicians, media and the J&K administration to refrain from “glamorising” such individuals by calling them “militants”, insisting that they be rightly termed “terrorists”.
“The inappropriate terminology hurts the sentiments of victims’ families and dishonours the sacrifices of security forces,” he said. The BJP spokesperson has called for a formal directive from Lt Governor Manoj Sinha mandating the use of the term “terrorist” across all media and official communications.
Dr Jasrotia also criticised the use of “militant” from the Chief Minister’s chair during Assembly proceedings and appealed to all political leaders to set an example by avoiding the term. He praised the Modi government for taking up a similar issue with the BBC and demanded consistent action against the misuse of terminology by newspapers and news channels operating in Jammu and Kashmir.
