Leaders across the Jammu and Kashmir spectrum, including political parties and separatist groups, today condemned the death of a Chennai-based tourist who was hit by stone pelters, with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti stressing that those who picked up stones with the intent to kill had no religion.
Opposition leader Omar Abdullah lashed out at the PDP-BJP alliance and accused it of having failed to improve the security situation in the state, while the chief minister called the incident a "murder of humanity".
The angry reaction from the political parties and separatists groups came after the 22-year-old tourist, R Thirumani, died of head injuries following a stone pelting incident at Narbal on the outskirts of Srinagar city.
The state government has convened an all-party meet tomorrow to discuss the political situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Those who pick up stones to kill someone have no religion," Mehbooba said after meeting the father of the Chennai resident, who was in the Valley with his family on a holiday and died last evening at a hospital here.
The issue would be discussed and debated on television for days and "we will be silently watching the murder of humanity, which has been unheard of in the state", Mehbooba told PTI.
More From This Section
"My head hangs in shame," the chief minister said, while also questioning the education being imparted to children.
"The mother in me is rattled about the kind of education we are imparting to our next generation," said the mother of two daughters and the first woman chief minister of the state.
An angry Omar blamed the state government for its continued failure in improving the security situation.
"We've killed a tourist by throwing stones at the vehicle he was travelling in. Let's try and wrap our heads around the fact that we stoned a tourist, a guest, to death while we glorify these stone-pelters and their methods," he said.
Omar said he was he was "deeply, deeply sorry" about the incident which had occurred in his constituency.
"...and while I don't support these goons, their methods or their ideology, I'm deeply, deeply sorry that this happened at all and that too in an area I've been proud to represent since 2014," he said.
The Joint Resistance Forum, comprising the three main separatist groups in Kashmir, also condemned the death and said the incident had dented the image of the Valley and its tradition of welcoming guests.
The death was "unfortunate" and had undermined their struggle, said a statement from the Forum, comprising the hardline and moderate factions of the Hurriyat Conference and the JKLF.
"Tourists are our guests and we should be loyal to our Kashmiri and religious traditions by refraining from harassing them," the statement in Urdu said.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the death was "completely condemnable" and not "very conducive" for tourism in the Valley.
The minister also said armed forces have to be firm with terrorists and described the Kashmir issue as "very sensitive" and "nuanced".
The incident comes just as the tourist season in Kashmir begins to gather pace with the summer setting in over large parts of the country, she said, adding, "I don't know whether it (the incident) was inadvertent or (committed) knowingly but it is completely condemnable".
BJP national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna said the death of the tourist targeted by stone pelters was an attack aimed at hurting the state's economic activities and tourism sector.
"Such unfortunate and condemnable incidents send a wrong message which ultimately damages the interests of the people of the state," said CPI(M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami.
Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram advised Mehbooba to quit the PDP-BJP coalition government saying the "unholy" alliance was the gravest provocation to the people of the Valley.
"Mehbooba Mufti should break her party's unholy and opportunistic coalition with the BJP. And go back to the philosophy of her father. The PDP-BJP coalition is the gravest provocation to the people of the Kashmir Valley. Mehboobaji, quit the coalition immediately and go back to the people," he tweeted.
In a related development, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today spoke to Mehbooba over the phone and sought her help for the safe return of 130 tourists from his state.
"I asked... Mehbooba Mufti to help officials of the Tamil Nadu government for the safe return of the tourists," he said.
In Jammu, senior state Congress vice president and former minister Sham Lal Sharma termed the move to grant amnesty to stone pelters by the PDP-BJP government a suicidal move.
Granting amnesty to stone pelters has not helped in bringing normalcy in the Valley. Instead the situation has further deteriorated, he said at a function here.
In a statement, the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries (JCCI) also said it felt the amnesty given to stone pelters was a great gesture but now needed a re-look.
It also appealed to the people to rise above ideologies for peace in Kashmir.
It is not the time for a blame game to score political brownie points, it said, and urged people from all spectrums -- social, civil societies, political parties as well as separatist groups -- to rise above ideologies, agendas and party politics," it said.