On eve of polling, Cong rakes up Rubiya kidnapping, Kandhar hijack cases to corner BJP

A day before polling for the first phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress aggressively raked up the revival of terrorism in Jammu province to corner its arch-rival BJP.

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Gurdeep Singh Sappal pointed out that terrorism emboldened in Jammu and Kashmir only during the tenure of BJP at the Centre.

Singh, while interacting with media persons at Jammu, recalled that releasing dreaded terrorists in exchange for getting PDP president Mehbooba Mufti's sister Rubiya Sayeed released was a turning point in encouraging terrorism.

"The then Chief Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah was against releasing terrorists but the then Central government headed by VP Singh was forced by the BJP to release dreaded terrorists", Singh recalled.

The Congress leader further said that the infamous Kandahar hijacking incident has further encouraged terrorism in J&K.

"The then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was against the trade of five terrorists for Rubiya. He was also the Chief Minister when three terrorists were swapped for the IC 814 passengers and was against that exchange too", Singh said and regretted that the then BJP government succumbed before the terrorists and demoralized nationalist forces.

Rubiya Sayeed's kidnapping case

Exactly six days after her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed became the first Muslim Home Ministry of the country, Dr. Rubiya Sayeed was kidnapped by some terrorists from a Matador vehicle from Nowgam on December 8, 1989. She was returning home from the Lal Ded Hospital where she was a medical intern at that time.

Her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was inducted as Home Minister in the government headed by then Prime Minister VP Singh on December 2, 1989.

Rubiya was released on 13 December 1989 after some developments and in exchange for her release, five terrorists namely Hamid Sheikh, Altaf Ahmad Bhat, Noor Mohammad, Javid Ahmad Zargar, and Sher Khan were released.

The release of five terrorists led to a massive celebration across the Kashmir Valley, particularly in Srinagar city.

Cong counters BJP's claim of containing terrorism

The Congress party slammed the BJP for its claims of containing terrorism in Jammu, citing a surge in attacks on civilians and security personnel. Sappal pointed to the recent Chhatroo attack, which killed two soldiers, as evidence of the BJP's security failures.

Sappal criticized the BJP for using national security as a political tool while neglecting the safety of Jammu residents. He highlighted the region's rising terror incidents, including in Rajouri, Poonch, and Udhampur, and accused the BJP of adopting a strategy focused on posturing rather than addressing terrorism's root causes.

The Congress leader noted that despite the BJP's bold claims, the security situation remains volatile, with 119 security personnel killed in the past three years, including 40% from the Jammu division. He argued that the BJP's decisions, such as revoking Article 370, have been ineffective in combating terrorism.

Sappal also criticized the BJP for prioritizing political gains over the well-being of Jammu and Kashmir residents, citing the region's economic decline and political disempowerment.

The Congress party on Tuesday ridiculed the BJP claim of containing terrorism in the Jammu region, accusing the ruling party of misleading the public with hollow assurances.

The Congress party argued that despite the BJP's repeated declarations of bringing peace and security to Jammu, the region has witnessed a sharp increase in terrorist activities, killings of pilgrims, and infiltration in the last couple of years.

Sappal highlighted the rise in attacks on civilians and security personnel in areas that were once considered relatively peaceful, asserting that the BJP's claims of controlling terrorism are far from reality.

"The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that hours before the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Doda, terrorists struck in the same region in the Chhatroo area in which two soldiers of the Army have attained martyrdom", Singh said while pointing toward recent Chhatroo attack.

"The increase in terror incidents in the Jammu division is a glaring failure of the BJP's security policies", he said and criticized the government for being complacent and failing to adopt a comprehensive approach to combat the growing threat of terrorism in the region.

Pointing to the rising number of attacks in districts like Rajouri, Poonch, and Udhampur, the Congress leader emphasized that Jammu is no longer immune to the wave of terrorism that has traditionally plagued the Kashmir Valley. He accused the BJP of using national security as a political tool while neglecting the safety and well-being of the people living in Jammu.