Oppn Slam Centre Over Terror Attack On Bihar Laborer In J&K

Amidst heightened political tension in Jammu and Kashmir, opposition parties criticized the Centre after migrant laborers from Bihar fell victim to terrorism in J&K's Anantnag district, just a day before polling in Udhampur.

Congress MP Manish Tewari condemned the attack, attributing it to the "failure of the Central government". He stated, "Extremely unfortunate what has happened. It's regrettable and it is a failure of the Central government because Jammu and Kashmir is a union territory and the Central government must walk the extra mile."

"The union territory administration must ensure that the lives of people who have gone to work in that state and who are contributing to the economy of that state are protected," Tewari added, as quoted by ANI.

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav, echoed similar sentiments, calling for an investigation into the matter. "Extremely unfortunate what has happened. The administration must look into this matter and find out why such incidents happen," he told reporters.

RJD leader and Saran Lok Sabha candidate, Rohini Acharya, advocated for government compensation for the victim's family, reacting to the incident.

Expressing condolences, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad assured that "perpetrators would be swiftly dealt with".

The incident occurred when terrorists opened fire on Raju Shah in Bijbehara, Anantnag, marking the second such attack in the region within 10 days. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Shah succumbed to his injuries.

Police promptly responded to the attack, cordoning off the area and launching a search operation.

BJP's J&K unit termed the attack as a "manifestation of adversaries' frustration".

"Urge police to track down the killers of this innocent man and punish them sternly," BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur said in a statement.

With polling scheduled for April 19 in Udhampur, the incident has cast a shadow over the battleground. Union Minister Jitendra Singh, seeking re-election, faces stiff competition from Congress candidate Choudhary Lal Singh in what promises to be a closely contested battle in the first major electoral showdown since J&K's bifurcation in 2019.

"A compensation should be provided by the government. We will also raise our voices for this," she told reporters.