Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari’s call to Bengalis to avoid visiting Kashmir has drawn criticism not only from its ruling National Conference, which called it dangerous and an affront to the soul of India, but also from his own party, with a senior leader advising him to take time out and visit Kashmir himself.
Veteran BJP leader and former J&K chief Ravinder Raina on Saturday uploaded a video to remind Adhikari of the "sacrifices" Syama Prasad Mookerjee made for Kashmir, urging him to visit the Valley and see for himself how “India lives in the heart of every Kashmiri”.
Adhikari’s call to people not to visit Kashmir had come after chief minister Mamata Banerjee met her J&K counterpart Omar Abdullah in Calcutta on Thursday where he invited her to visit “the paradise on earth.”
Omar is reaching out to different states to woo tourists to Kashmir after the Pahalgam terror attack.
In reply, Mamata said she would try to visit Kashmir after Durga Puja and urged people of Bengal to do so, saying: "There is nothing to be afraid of. The Centre and Omar Abdullah will provide security. I am a fan of Kashmir."
The same day, Adhikari urged Bengalis not to go to Kashmir or to places with a high Muslim population.
"In the Pahalgam attack, people from our state were selectively killed. Go to Himachal, go to Uttarakhand, but don't go to Kashmir," Adhikari said.
Three of the 26 victims of the April 22 militant attack in Pahalgam — Bitan Adhikari, Sameer Guha and Manish Ranjan — were from Bengal.
The ruling NC expressed outrage over Adhikari’s call.
“It is deeply shameful that at a time when the entire country is standing with Jammu and Kashmir, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal @SuvenduWB is spewing such hate-filled, divisive, and communal rhetoric,” NC chief spokesman Tanvir Sadiq wrote on X. “Kashmiris have stood with the nation not out of compulsion, not for benefit but because it was the right thing to do. And when we are right, the nation must stand with us.”
Sadiq said Adhikari’s statement was not just irresponsible but dangerous.
“He insults not only the people of Kashmir but the very idea of India, where unity in diversity is our strength. Such vile thinking must be condemned by one and all. This isn’t just about Kashmir; this is about the soul of India,” he said.
BJP leader Raina on Saturday said Kashmir was the crown of India and part of Bharat.
“Kashmir lives in every Indian’s heart,” he said.
Raina recalled the sacrifices of Jana Sangh founder Mookerjee who said “Ek desh mein do vidhan, do pradhan aur do nishan nahin chalega (One country can’t have two Constitutions, two Prime Ministers and two flags)”. He said Mookerjee gave his life for national integration.
The slogan became the cornerstone of the BJP’s ideology and resulted in the controversial abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
“I request Suvendu Adhikari-ji to visit Kashmir and see how India lives in the hearts of every Kashmiri. Every Kashmiri loves India and when on April 22, terrorists killed humanity, it were Kashmiris who were first to reach Baisaran (where tourists were killed) on foot and took the injured to hospitals,” Raina said. “India is in the heart of Jammu and Kashmir and Jammu and Kashmir is in the heart of India. Every Indian should come to Jammu and Kashmir. I request Suvendu Adhikari Ji, who is Bengal’s leader of opposition, to take time out and see the love of Kashmiris for India. I request people of the entire country, people of Bengal, to come to Kashmir. People of Jammu and Kashmir are true Indians,” he added.