The Crossbill News Desk
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP has sparked outrage with remarks blaming women victims of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir for not resisting the assailants.
Speaking at an event in Bhiwani, Haryana, on May 24 to commemorate the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, BJP MP Ram Chander Jangra suggested that the women lacked the courage to confront the attackers and implied that their passive response contributed to the tragedy.
The Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists, reportedly involved militants targeting individuals based on their religion.
Referring to the women who lost their husbands in the attack, Jangra said they were not filled with the "spirit of a warrior woman" and instead became victims “with folded hands.”
“Wahan par jo hamari veerangnay behane thee, jinki maang ka sindoor chheen liya gaya, Veerangna ka bhaav nahin tha, josh nahin tha, jazba nahin tha, dil nahin tha, isliye haath jod ke goli ka shikaar ho gaye (The brave women we had there, whose sindoor was snatched away – they lacked the spirit of a warrior woman, lacked passion, emotion, heart, and so, with folded hands, they became victims of bullets),” the BJP MP said, reported news agency, PTI.
He went on to say, “Bilkul ladna chahihye tha. Aur agar ladte, to kam shahadat hoti aur kam log maare jaate. Haath jodne se kaun chhodta hai? Wo to maarne ke liye aaye the…Vo to aatankvaadi the. Unke dil mein daya thodi thee (They absolutely should have fought back. And if they had, there would have been fewer deaths and fewer people martyred. Who spares anyone just because they fold their hands? They had come to kill… they were terrorists. There was no mercy in their hearts).”
Jangra also claimed the death toll could have been lower had the tourists undergone military training.
“Agar yaatri training pass kiye hote, to teen ugarvaadi 26 logon ko nahin mar sakte the (Had our tourists passed the training then three terrorists could not have killed 26 people),” he said.
“Lekin haath jodne se koi chhodta nahin. Hamare aadmi vahan par haath jodkar maare gaye (But no one spares you just because you fold your hands. Our men were killed there even as they stood with folded hands).”
The comments triggered a swift backlash from opposition leaders, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge calling them “shameful” and reflective of the “petty mentality” of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In a post on X, Kharge accused BJP leaders of maligning victims and said there appeared to be a pattern of insensitive remarks from party figures, citing previous statements by Madhya Pradesh deputy chief minister Jagdish Devda and minister Vijay Shah.
“The shameful statement of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ramchandra Jangra has once again exposed the petty mentality of RSS-BJP,” he wrote.
“Even when the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam was being trolled on social media, Modi ji was silent.”
Kharge also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the trolling of the widow of a naval officer killed in the attack, contrasting it with the PM’s emotional rhetoric.
“You say you have sindoor in your veins. If that is true, dismiss these foul-mouthed leaders of yours out of respect for women,” he said.
Speaking at an event in Bhiwani, Haryana, on May 24 to commemorate the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar, BJP MP Ram Chander Jangra suggested that the women lacked the courage to confront the attackers and implied that their passive response contributed to the tragedy.
The Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists, reportedly involved militants targeting individuals based on their religion.
Referring to the women who lost their husbands in the attack, Jangra said they were not filled with the "spirit of a warrior woman" and instead became victims “with folded hands.”
“Wahan par jo hamari veerangnay behane thee, jinki maang ka sindoor chheen liya gaya, Veerangna ka bhaav nahin tha, josh nahin tha, jazba nahin tha, dil nahin tha, isliye haath jod ke goli ka shikaar ho gaye (The brave women we had there, whose sindoor was snatched away – they lacked the spirit of a warrior woman, lacked passion, emotion, heart, and so, with folded hands, they became victims of bullets),” the BJP MP said, reported news agency, PTI.
He went on to say, “Bilkul ladna chahihye tha. Aur agar ladte, to kam shahadat hoti aur kam log maare jaate. Haath jodne se kaun chhodta hai? Wo to maarne ke liye aaye the…Vo to aatankvaadi the. Unke dil mein daya thodi thee (They absolutely should have fought back. And if they had, there would have been fewer deaths and fewer people martyred. Who spares anyone just because they fold their hands? They had come to kill… they were terrorists. There was no mercy in their hearts).”
Jangra also claimed the death toll could have been lower had the tourists undergone military training.
“Agar yaatri training pass kiye hote, to teen ugarvaadi 26 logon ko nahin mar sakte the (Had our tourists passed the training then three terrorists could not have killed 26 people),” he said.
“Lekin haath jodne se koi chhodta nahin. Hamare aadmi vahan par haath jodkar maare gaye (But no one spares you just because you fold your hands. Our men were killed there even as they stood with folded hands).”
The comments triggered a swift backlash from opposition leaders, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge calling them “shameful” and reflective of the “petty mentality” of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
In a post on X, Kharge accused BJP leaders of maligning victims and said there appeared to be a pattern of insensitive remarks from party figures, citing previous statements by Madhya Pradesh deputy chief minister Jagdish Devda and minister Vijay Shah.
“The shameful statement of BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ramchandra Jangra has once again exposed the petty mentality of RSS-BJP,” he wrote.
“Even when the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam was being trolled on social media, Modi ji was silent.”
Kharge also criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the trolling of the widow of a naval officer killed in the attack, contrasting it with the PM’s emotional rhetoric.
“You say you have sindoor in your veins. If that is true, dismiss these foul-mouthed leaders of yours out of respect for women,” he said.
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