Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Sunday accused People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti of resorting to a “political stunt” after she cancelled her election campaign in solidarity with the people of Lebanon.
“Cancelling my campaign tomorrow in solidarity with the martyrs of Lebanon and Gaza especially Hassan Nasarullah. We stand with the people of Palestine and Lebanon in this hour of immense grief and exemplary resistance,” Mufti wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Reacting to Mehbooba’s decision, Kavinder Gupta, her former deputy during the PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, said that the former chief minister remained silent while Hindus were being targeted.
“Mehbooba Mufti is pained by the death of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, but when Hindus were being killed in Bangladesh, she remained silent. These are crocodile tears, nothing but fake sympathy. People understand everything,” Kavinder Gupta told ANI.
Another BJP leader from the Kashmir Valley, Altaf Thakur, said that there should be no war anywhere in the world, as people deserve peace in their lives.
He added that after major conflicts, countries have often united to resolve issues through dialogue. However, he remarked that Mehbooba Mufti is playing a religious card, saying, “this is her election stunt. We also condemn the killings in war, but Mehbooba Mufti has taken this step to gain support from the Muslim community.”
Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of the Hezbollah, was killed along with his daughter Zainab on Friday after Israeli forces launched a series of strikes in the densely populated Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut.
The attack, which was meant to target Nasrallah, also led to six more deaths. Other Hezbollah operatives such as Ali Karaki, Muhammad Ali Ismail, and Hossein Ahmed Ismail were also killed in the attacks, which continued till late on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a protest march was held in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam and Srinagar on Saturday against the killing of Hassan Nasrallah by the Israel Defence Force (IDF). People were seen out on the streets in large numbers, carrying pictures of Hassan Nasrallah.