Delhi minister Kapil Mishra on Tuesday kicked up a row when he asked Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti if she considers Burhan Wani a terrorist. The two were present at a programme in Delhi where both were sharing the stage.
Burhan Wani was a self-confessed commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8, triggering state-wide unrest.
“It can’t be that you don’t accept Burhan Wani as a terrorist and then expect tourism to increase in the state,” Mishra said at Bharat International Tourism Bazaar in Delhi.
“You say Afzal Guru is not a terrorist, he should not be hanged and then expect tourism to increase, it won’t happen,” he further said.
“Terrorists are being treated as tourists in Kashmir. Yesterday two terrorists escaped from Baramulla. Where did they go? Somebody may have sheltered them. How long will this go on? Whom to fight with? People of J&K or outsiders,” Delhi’s Tourism Minister said, directly questioning Mufti who was seated on stage while he was speaking.
He asked if Mehbooba was ready to recognise Burhan Wani and Afzal Guru as terrorists.
His allegation triggered an uproar in the hall. While the J&K CM sat silently, some people got up and protested against Mishra’s remarks.
The Aam Aadmi Party has often targeted BJP-PDP alliance which rules J&K.
On her turn to speak, Mehbooba did not directly address Mishra but said that everyone in Indian democracy has the freedom to speak. She also launched a veiled attack on the Delhi minister saying her state was the best in the country in terms of women’s safety.
“Women can travel to Gulmarg, to Leh, visit religious places in Jammu without the fear of, God forbid, getting raped in a moving car,” she said.
