A day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah sparked a row after he said he was "not in favour of a war" with Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack, a minister in his government has triggered another controversy by saying that the terrorists would not have asked their targets' religion before killing them in cold blood.
RB Timmapur, Karnataka's Excise Minister, told the media that he did not think the killers asked the targets' religion before shooting them. "A man who is shooting, will he ask caste or religion? He will just shoot and go. Think practically. He will not stand there, ask and then shoot," he said. The minister said the country is upset over the heinous attack and alleged that a "conspiracy" was being plotted to paint this as a religious issue. "I feel they didn't ask about religion when they were carrying out the terror attack. In case they did, there shouldn't be this madness of using such a statement to politicise the issue based on religion," the minister in the Congress government said.
Twenty-five tourists and a Kashmiri pony ride operator were brutally killed by terrorists at Baisaran valley in Pahalgam on Tuesday. Family members of multiple victims have said the terrorists went to each of them and asked about their religion. Those who said they were Hindu were shot dead.
BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan has responded strongly to the Karnataka Minister's remarks, describing them as "barbaric and wicked". "The barbaric and wicked remarks of Karnataka Congress Minister Mr Thimmapur has insulted the integrity of the grieving families and humiliated the courageous sacrifice of the victims who were massacred in the Pakistan-backed Islamic terror attack in Pahalgam. Even in this hour of national mourning, the communal Congress party which has mortgaged its soul and conscience to its vote bank politics of religious appeasement is peddling," Mr Kesavan said.
The terror attack has shocked the whole country and prompted calls for strong action against Pakistan, known to back terror acts in India. India has taken multiple steps in the aftermath of the terror attack, suspending the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan and visa services for Pakistani nationals. Pakistan, too, has warned of suspending all bilateral agreements.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backers. "The whole country is with the bereaved families. The government is trying its best to ensure the well-being of those injured. Someone has lost a son, someone has lost a brother, someone has lost life partner. Someone spoke Bengali, someone spoke Kannada, someone was Marathi, someone was Odia, someone was Gujarati and someone was Bihar's son."
"From Kargil to Kanyakumari, there is grief and rage. This attack was not just on innocent tourists; the country's enemies have shown the audacity to attack India's soul," he said, adding that the terrorists who carried out the attack and those who plotted it would "get a punishment they cannot imagine".
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has said the government has the Opposition's full support for any action.
Mr Siddaramiah, meanwhile, has said he never said India should never go to war with Pakistan. "I only said that war is not the solution. Protection should have been given to the tourists, isn't it? Whose responsibility is this? I have said there has been a failure."
