Jammu: The BJP on Saturday hit out at opposition parties for maintaining “complete silence” over the death of a soldier in a stone-pelting incident and said stone-pelters should be treated like terrorists are being dealt in the state.
Sepoy Rajendra Singh (22) died at a hospital in Srinagar on Friday after he sustained head injuries during stone-pelting by a group of youths.
Expressing concern over the death of the soldier, BJP national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna said, “The complete silence on part of the opposition parties over such inhuman incidents is most unfortunate and need to be condemned by one and all.”
“It is strange that the opposition parties are in a rat race to condemn the killing of those waging war against the nation and carrying weapons to unleash murder, damage to the public property and disturb the peace in the state and do not muster courage to speak even a single word of disapproval against such incidents and those responsible for them,” he said.
Khanna said the involvement of youth in incidents of violence and taking on to terrorist activities is not healthy for society and it becomes the duty of political, social and religious organisations to counsel the misled youngsters to shun the path which spoils their career.
“They should guide youths to focus on acquiring education, stand on their own feet and support their families, which have high hopes from them,” he said.
Khanna said the men in Army uniform too are human beings and deserve respect.
“They should not be seen from the prism of enmity. They are in the state to work for safety and security of the lives of common citizens,” he said.
The opposition parties seem to be oblivious to this responsibility of making society progressive and peaceful, he said.
Condemning the incident, state BJP president Ravinder Raina said, “The stone-pelters are terrorist sympathisers and anyone supporting or working for a terrorist is also a terrorist. They are not innocent children.”
He said the stone-pelters attack the security forces whenever any terrorist is encircled during an operation.
“They are conspiring against India at the behest of Pakistan. The way terrorists are being selectively eliminated, they should be treated equally,” Raina told reporters on the sidelines of a function at party headquarters here.
