Ram Chander Jangra’s suggestion that tourists under terrorist attack should have shown “warrior spirit” sparks fury. Congress calls for his expulsion and accuses BJP of dishonoring martyrs.
BY PC Bureau
The Congress on Sunday condemned BJP MP Ram Chander Jangra’s controversial statement suggesting that tourists attacked by terrorists in Pahalgam should have fought back. The party demanded his immediate expulsion and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Calling the silence from the Prime Minister and BJP leadership “tacit approval,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said BJP leaders appeared to be in a race to insult both the Pahalgam victims and the armed forces. He added that Jangra’s remarks were part of a disturbing pattern, citing similar comments by Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda and minister Vijay Shah.
The Congress claimed Devda had demeaned the Indian Army by suggesting its soldiers were subservient to Modi. Meanwhile, Shah had sparked outrage—and was forced to apologize—after drawing religious comparisons between the Pahalgam attackers and Col Sofiya Qureshi, who recently briefed the press on Operation Sindoor alongside Wing Commander Vyomika Singh and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
READ: COVID-19 JN.1 Variant: Should We Be Concerned About Its Severity?
In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Kharge accused the BJP of harboring a “petty and regressive” mindset. “Ram Chander Jangra’s disgraceful comment once again exposes the RSS-BJP mentality,” he wrote. “Jagdish Devda insulted our brave soldiers, yet PM Modi has done nothing. Vijay Shah made vile remarks about a courageous colonel and still remains in office.”
नमस्कार साथियों,
सबसे पहले, मैं लोकसभा में नेता प्रतिपक्ष श्री राहुल गांधी, संचार विभाग के महासचिव श्री जयराम रमेश जी, मीडिया और प्रचार विभाग के अध्यक्ष श्री पवन खेड़ा जी, और इस आयोजन में शामिल सभी वक्ताओं का धन्यवाद करता हूं।
यह कार्यशाला केवल एक कार्यक्रम नहीं है, यह हमारे… pic.twitter.com/QvE4KSNLBv
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) May 23, 2025
Kharge also slammed Modi for staying silent while the widow of a naval officer killed in the Pahalgam attack faced online abuse. “You claim to have sindoor in your veins, Modi ji. If that’s true, uphold women’s dignity by removing these offensive leaders,” he added.
Echoing Kharge, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the BJP’s repeated attacks on the armed forces and martyrs reveal a disturbing mindset. “Instead of acknowledging the security failure in Pahalgam, BJP MPs are questioning the victims and their grieving families,” he posted on X.
Ramesh reiterated the party’s demand for Modi to apologize and expel Jangra, saying, “The Prime Minister’s silence is no less than complicity.”
Jangra triggered backlash on Saturday after saying that the tourists targeted in the April 22 Pahalgam attack should have resisted, and that the widows of the slain men should have shown the spirit of ‘veerangnas’ (warrior women). He further claimed the death toll would have been lower had the victims undergone Agniveer training, implying the women lacked courage.
