New Delhi: The campaign of a Kargil martyr’s daughter against the ABVP on Monday drew controversial reaction from BJP leaders with Union minister Kiren Rijiju wondering who was “polluting” her mind and another comparing her with wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
Pratap Simha, BJP MP from Mysuru, tweeted, “At least Dawood did not use the crutches of his father’s name to justify his anti-national stand.”
His tweet came as the campaign of Gurmehar Kaur went viral online with her photograph in which she said, “Pakistan did not kill my father. War killed him.”
To mock her, Simha also posted a photograph showing Dawood with the message, “I didn’t kill people in 1993. Bombs killed them.” Rijiju also took to Twitter to take a dig at her. “Who’s polluting this young girl’s mind? Strong armed forces prevent a war. India never attacked anyone but a weak India was always invaded,” the minister of state for Home Affairs said.
Talking to reporters, he later said, “One should not say things which could demoralise the countrymen and the forces. Everybody has freedom but that does not mean that you raise slogans to weaken the country.”
24-year-old Kaur, daughter of Kargil martyr Captain Mandeep Singh and a Delhi University student, had started a social media campaign “I am not afraid of ABVP” following the violence at Ramjas college. Her campaign has gone viral and received support from students across various universities.
Meanwhile, opposition parties rushed to the defence of a Kargil martyr’s daughter after she came under harsh criticism today from BJP members for her campaign against violence in the name of nationalism.
“You may not like what the person thinks but…mindless threats, trolling emanating from people whom the Prime Minister of India follows (sic). This is the worst form of state intimidation and this is not how democracies and democratic countries function,” said Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari.
In her campaign, she has blasted the ABVP, the RSS-aligned students wing, for instigating violence at New Delhi’s Ramjas College last week. “The brutal attack on innocent students by ABVP is very disturbing and should be stopped. It was not an attack on protesters, but an attack on every notion of democracy that is held dear in every Indian’s heart. (PTI)
