‘Why no evacuation': TMC delegation visits shelling-hit Poonch
Ahead of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's scheduled visit to Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch Saturday, a five-member TMC delegation went to Poonch district Thursday after meeting CM Omar Abdullah on Wednesday.
Poonch has been the hardest hit by cross-border shelling from Pakistan, accounting for 16 deaths of the total 27 in J&K.
The delegation, comprising Rajya Sabha members Derek O'Brien, Sagarika Ghose, Md Nadimul Haque, West Bengal Minister Manas Bhunia, and former MP Mamata Thakur, questioned why people in Poonch and other border areas were not evacuated or moved to bunkers after Operation Sindoor was launched.
'All of us have experienced the pain, suffering, and the loss suffered by families here,' said Ghose. The delegation also visited Rajouri and some other places near the border with Pakistan and expressed solidarity with the families.
In Poonch, the TMC leaders met the family of ex-serviceman Amarjeet Singh, who died from shrapnel injuries. The team visited Christ School where 12-year-old twins Urba Fatima and Zain Ali, killed in shelling, studied. The delegation also visited the residence of Rajouri official Raj Kumar Thappa, who died in shelling.
'Why were people in these border areas not evacuated when Operation Sindoor was being launched,' Ghose said. 'We have come on a journey of empathy, sympathy and solidarity, We have come here to tell each and every family that they are not alone.'
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