Kolkata: On July 21, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stirred controversy by referring to the 2019 Pulwama terror attack as a 'staged incident' during the Martyr's Day rally in Kolkata's Esplanade.
During her speech, Banerjee alleged, "I will tell the students and the youth that the BJP is planning to pull off staged events such as Pulwama (terror attack). They are planning to create fake, staged videos like in movies. They will stage dramas, shoot videos, and defame Bengal. This is their conspiracy."
The Martyrs' Day rally is an annual event organized by the Trinamool Congress to commemorate the death of 13 Youth Congress workers who were killed in a police firing incident in Kolkata in 1993. Mamata Banerjee was the State president of the Indian Youth Congress at that time.
The Pulwama terror attack took place on February 14, 2019, when a convoy of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel was targeted by a suicide bombing on National Highway 44 while en route to Srinagar.
A 22-year-old Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist named Adil Ahmad Dar, from Kakapora in Jammu and Kashmir, carried out the attack by ramming his explosive-laden vehicle into a bus carrying CRPF personnel, resulting in the martyrdom of 40 jawans.
Pulwama suicide bombing attack and Hate for Indians:-
After the attack, a video of Adil Ahmad Dar went viral on social media, wherein he expressed his hatred for Indians and specifically targeted the Hindu community. In the video, he referred to Hindus as 'Hindustan ka Napak mushrikon' (impure idol worshippers of India) and 'Gae ka Peshab Peene Walon' (cow piss drinkers), dehumanizing and attacking their beliefs.
The use of slurs specifically aimed at the Hindu community indicated that the Pulwama attack was not solely an act of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, but also an act of vengeance against Hindus and their religious beliefs.
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