New Delhi:
Hours after Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat slammed stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir following the death of a soldier in a stone-pelting attack in Anantnag, Union minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said the mainstream politicians in Kashmir cannot go to the toilet without the Hurriyat Conference's permission.
Singh said if the jawan had open fire at the stone-pelters in self-defence, the same politicians would have cried hoarse accusing the security forces of violating the human rights of local Kashmiris.
Indian Army soldier Rajendra Singh has succumbed to his injuries after being attacked with stones by some youth in Kashmir's Anantnag on Thursday. An army spokesman said Sepoy Rajendra Singh was part of the Quick Reaction Team which was providing security to a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) convoy on Thursday.
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On Saturday, Rawat said stone-pelters are nothing but overground workers of terror organisation. He also asked Pakistan to desist from funding terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that the Indian state was "strong enough" to ensure that the border state remains a part of India and no one can take it away by force or any other means.
Singh was responding to a question on former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti staying mum on the death of the solider."Yesterday, I and (state) governor (Satya Pal) Malik were together in a programme and he said about the Hurriyat that they take permission from Pakistan to go to the toilet."
"I have no hesitation to add to that as far as the so called mainstream politicians (of Kashmir) are concerned, their situation is even worse, they take permission from Hurriyat to go to the toilet," Singh said.
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"If they do not get the permission they are even reconciled to remain constipated all their lives," the minister of state in the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) told reporters in Jammu.
"This apologetic approach is just appalling... Had the soldier who got killed defended himself, which he could have rightfully done, the same politicians would have bayed for his blood in the name of human rights violations or civilian atrocities by security personnel," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
