Brother of the slain CRPF inspector, Pintu Kumar, has lashed out at the government after no minister turned up at the Jai Prakash Narayan Airport in Patna to receive the body of the fallen hero. Everyone, appeared to have been preoccupied with the Sunday’s election rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mithilesh Kumar told reporters, “The (the government) has given importance to one individual (Modi). Martyrs can wait. After all he’s dead now. How does it affect our ministers? They are busy saving their own chairs.”
Mithilesh also questioned the government’s much-claimed love for the soldiers protecting India’s security. He said, “This shows just how much they care for the soldiers and steps they are taking to help them.”
Pintu Kumar was killed in an encounter with militants in Kashmir’s Kupwara on Friday. At least four CRPF jawans were killed in the encounter on Friday. Union Minister in-charge of internal security, Kiren Rijiju, was busy acting as a travel agent for Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon when the reports of CRPF’s fresh casualties came in.
Among those, who turned up at the Patna airport on Sunday to pay their respects to Pintu Kumar’s body were District Magistrate Kumar Ravi, senior police officer Garima Mallick, senior officers of the Central Reserve Police Force, Bihar Congress President Madan Mohan Jha and Lok Janshakti Party MP Choudhary Mahboob Ali Kaiser.
Modi, meanwhile, was busy addressing the election rally, just a few kms away from the airport. Ironically, while speaking in Patna, Modi said, “Ab Bharat apne veer jawano ke balidaan par chup nahi baithta, chun chun kar hisaab leta hai. (Now India will not remain silent at the sacrifices of its soldiers. It will avenge every killing.)”
Last week, a mother of a fallen CRPF jawan had questioned the Modi government’s claims of destroying Jaish-e-Mohammed camps in Pakistan.