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The Print
25-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Don't compare Indian Muslims with Pakistani Muslims, says BJP MLA on Pahalgam terror attack
Speaking to ThePrint, he said Pakistan planned the attack as it wants to 'finish Kashmir's tourism by dividing the Valley with Hindu-Muslim tension'. Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Harshvardhan Bajpai, the MLA from Allahabad North seat, has appealed to people to not compare India's Muslims with Pakistan's, and hailed Kashmiris for helping the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack. Bajpai's remark comes at a time when the Pahalgam terrorists' targeting of Hindu tourists has sparked communal backlash on social media. Some statements have come even from within his party. 'Dharm poochha, jaati nahi… (the terrorists asked for the religion, not caste),' read a Chhattisgarh BJP post on X. 'One should not compare Indian Muslims with Pakistani's,' Bajpai told the media Friday. 'Kashmiri Muslims helped many Hindus during the incident. This is an attack on Kashmir's tourism. Local Kashmiris also condemned the attack by keeping a shutter down strike (hartal) in Srinagar the very next day.' 'My stand is very clear as I also understand geopolitics and international affairs. It is very clear that Pakistan has planned this attack. Their army general was also involved. They want to finish Kashmir's tourism by dividing the Valley with Hindu-Muslim communal tension. Their plan is very clear; we should understand this,' the MP told ThePrint. Bajpai appealed to both Hindus and Muslims to stay united to derail Pakistan's plan. 'I heard that Kashmiri students are being targeted in several colleges and universities after the Pahalgam attack. This is shameful. We should not forget how a Kashmiri ponywallah helped so many tourists during the terror attack. Did he check religion while extending the help? It is true that those terrorists asked about religion, but not these Kashmiris. We should not target Kashmiris.' Bajpai also claimed those targeting Kashmiris are actually harming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to bring peace to the Valley. 'Due to his efforts, voting percentage also increased in the recently held election as the public started showing faith in the government and democratic set up after the revocation of Article 370.' Not his first contrasting view This is not the first time Bajpai has expressed a view in contrast with the dominant belief within his party. He also opposed the Nazul Properties Bill in the Uttar Pradesh assembly in July 2024 and spoke against his own government. The bill prevents conversion of Nazul (owned by the government) land into private freehold. Bajpai had said the law would negatively impact longstanding residents, including those in the slums of Prayagraj. He said it would lead to displacement of families who have lived on these lands since the British era. The bill was eventually stalled in the Upper House and referred to a House select committee for wider discussions. Hailing from UP's Prayagraj, the 44-year-old Bajpai is a second-term MLA from the Prayagraj North assembly segment. He Bajpai joined the BJP in 2016 after leaving the Bahujan Samaj Party where he unsuccessfully contested the 2007 and 2012 assembly polls. His mother, Ranjana Bajpai, was also active in politics when she held a position as the women's wing chief in the Samajwadi Party between 2013 and 2017. His father, Ashok Bajpai, is a former Congress MLA (1980-1985) from the same seat. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also read: Every single Muslim plotting against us'—Karnal shopkeepers ask Hindus to keep weapons ready
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First Post
25-04-2025
- First Post
‘Would take a bullet': Meet the brave Pahalgam guide who saved the lives of children and BJP worker
Nazakat Ahmad Shah, a 30-year-old Kashmiri guide, didn't think twice before risking his own safety to save tourists during the Pahalgam attack. As terrorists began spraying bullets in Baisaran valley, Nazakat helped 11 tourists, including children, escape the horror, while tragically losing his cousin read more The 30-year-old Kashmiri guide, Nazakat Ahmad Shah, risked his own safety during the Pahalgam terror attack to to protect the people he had been hosting. Image courtesy: X 'I wanted to host them at my home, and since they were my guests, I would have taken a bullet before anything was to happen to them.' That one sentence says everything about the kind of person Nazakat Ahmad Shah is. The local guide from Kashmir didn't think twice when gunshots rang out just kilometres away in Baisaran valley in Pahalgam on Tuesday, The Hindu reported. The 30-year-old guide risked his own safety as he ran to protect the people he had been hosting. The group, which included families and children from Chhattisgarh, were rushed to safety as chaos and tragedy unfolded around them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Nazakat, however, lost his own cousin during the attack, which claimed the lives of 25 others and one local who ferried tourists on horseback. The incident was shared by the Chhattisgarh BJP youth wing worker Arvind Agrawal, who was among those saved by Nazakat. His story has since been widely shared online, with many calling the local Kashmiri the face of real bravery and humanity. Here's what happened. 'Hugged children as firing started' Arvind Agrawal and his family, wife Pooja and their four-year-old daughter were on the last leg of their Kashmir trip. They were accompanied by the families of Kuldeep Sthapak, Shivansh Jain and Happy Wadhavan. The group of 11 were headed to Pahalgam on Tuesday with Nazakat Ahmad Shah, a local from Kashmir, who sells shawls in Chirmiri town of Chhattisgarh during the winters. They knew him personally, and he had looked forward to hosting them. 'Pahalgam was to be the last venue as my village is close by, and I wanted to host them because Kashmiris have a passion for hospitality,' he told PTI. The group reached Baisaran around noon. Children were riding ponies, the adults were busy clicking photos. But soon, chaos broke out. Arvind Agrawal shared a picture of Nazakat and his four-year-old daughter during their Kashmir trip. Image courtesy: Instagram/@ArvindAgarwal 'Lucky (Kuldeep) and I were talking, and I told him we were getting late and should head back. He replied we'd leave after taking a few more pictures,' Nazakat recalled. 'While we were talking,we heard gunshots. Initially, we thought they were firecrackers. But suddenly, people started running in panic — there were thousands of tourists running here and there. That's when we realised it was gunfire.' The gunfire came from close to where the group was standing, Nazakat recalled. 'The firing was taking place near the zipline, about 20 metres from where we were standing. I first asked all those around me to lie down on the ground. Then I spotted a gap in the fencing and guided the children towards it. We escaped from the spot before the terrorists could come near us,' he told The Indian Express. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Arvind Agrawal said other tourists pulled him to safety, but his wife and daughter were some distance away, still with Nazakat and another family. Nazakat went back. 'I returned to find Agrawal ji's wife, who had run in another direction. I found her nearly one-and-a-half kilometres away and brought her back in my car,' he said. 'Thanks to Allah, I took all 11 guests safely to Pahalgam,' he added. But the day came with heartbreak too. Nazakat's cousin, 30-year-old Syed Adil Hussain Shah, was killed in the attack, reportedly while trying to stop the terrorists. Nazakat couldn't even attend the funeral. He chose instead to ensure the tourists got back safely. 'Tourism is our bread and butter. We are unemployed without it, and our children's education depends on this…The terror attack is like an attack on our hearts. We shut the doors of our shops and businesses and are protesting,' he said. 'We are known for our hospitality and I believe tourists will come. Security forces should be more vigilant.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Will never be able to repay the debt of Nazakat Bhai' After the traumatic experience in Pahalgam, the tourists who were saved by the Kashmiri guide took to social media to express their gratitude. Agrawal posted pictures of him and his daughter with Nazakat and wrote, 'You saved our lives by risking your own. We will never be able to repay the debt of Nazakat Bhai.' Like Agrawal, Sthapak also posted a heartfelt message for Nazakat, a local newspaper reported. 'A letter written from the heart to Nazakat Bhai… My brother, the passion and bravery with which you rescued us from there is still echoing in my ears. There was chaos, gunshots, screams and the shadow of death all around. No ordinary person can do that.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He described the moment when Nazakat picked up his child, sat him on his shoulders and ran 14 km on the hills. 'Nazakat bhai, you not only saved my life that day, you kept humanity alive. I will never forget you for the rest of my life,' he added. With input from agencies
The Print
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Oppn unites in bashing BJP over ‘insensitive' Ghibli-style post on grieving newly-wed woman in Pahalgam
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav termed the BJP's 'X' post a 'childish advertisement' on the extremely painful tragedy of Jammu and Kashmir and said this proves that BJP leaders have 'zero sympathy for those who have lost their lives and whose families are in deep sorrow'. 'Even if BJP removes this advertisement, even its staunch supporters will not forgive this sin. BJP always looks for opportunities for its power and politics in disasters. BJP is not close to anyone except its own power,' he said in a post on 'X'. At least 26 people were killed and several others injured in what was one of the deadliest terror attacks in the Kashmir Valley. The attack at Baisaran Valley, a popular destination visited by hundreds of tourists on horseback daily, came at a time when US Vice President J.D. Vance is in India on a four-day visit. New Delhi: 'Dharm pooccha, jaati nahi…yaad rakhenge (asked about religion, not caste…will remember)'—a social media post by Chhattisgarh BJP, appended with a Ghiblified version of a newly-married woman sitting next to her husband killed in Pahalgam, has triggered a political row with the Opposition slamming the ruling party for looking for 'aapda mein bhi avasar', or opportunity in adversity. 'It is a request to the insensitive BJP members that after understanding the pain of the families who have lost their loved ones, at least the security of the country should not be made a mere slogan. This is a time of immense sorrow, the BJP should not commit the misdeed of denying it with ostentatious meetings and false sentiments,' Akhilesh added, pointing out that if the BJP government had learnt a lesson from the previous attacks, then such attacks could have been prevented. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate accused the BJP of looking for 'aapda mai avsar' or opportunities in adversity. 'Wait for the corpses to cool down vultures. Someone's entire life has been destroyed— and you're thinking of cartoons. Are you looking for opportunities even in this disaster,' Shrinate posted on 'X'. Earlier, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) had issued a statement condemning the Pahalgam terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, and said that terror has a religion. Senior BJP leader and MP Nishikant Dubey said Articles 26 to 29 of the Constitution, which pertain to freedom to manage religious affairs and cultural and educational rights of minorities, should be scrapped. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: Pahalgam attack: Terrorists armed with AK-47, M4 carbines targeted tourists in 40-min rampage
