"Law and order completely under central govt": Congress leaders criticise BJP amid killing of Village Defence Guards in J-K

New Delhi: As a chill across the region of Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir persisted after the killing of two Village Defence Guards (VDGs), Congress leaders on Friday condemned the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government for not doing enough to stop militancy in the region.
Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said that the law and order subject is completely under the control of the union government and the Lieutenant Governor, and asked whether the statements given by Amit Shah on curbing terrorism are false or not.
"Only yesterday Amit Shah gave a statement that everything is under control in J&K. An incident occurred the day before yesterday, and today again with the Village Defence Guards, so many lies are being told. The law and order situation in J&K is completely under the jurisdiction of BJP-led central government, under the Lieutenant Governor. Not only this, but the terrorists have taken responsibility for the attack too. So does that mean that the statement by Amit Shah on terrorism is a false statement? The terror acts in the region are increasing," Tiwari told ANI.
Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha paid homage to the two deceased on Thursday, Nazir Ahmad and Kuldeep Kumar who were killed in the attack and reiterated the Government's resolve to destroy all terror outfits and avenge the barbaric act.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday warned against "borderless and invisible" terror threats and stressed the need for cutting-edge technology to deal with them effectively.
Congress leader Rashid Alvi mentioned that the government should get to the root of the problem and find out the reason for these terror attacks, saying that the terrorists should be caught alive instead of killed in encounters.
"When someone dies it is only after that that efforts are made to know who is behind all this. Why doesn't the government find out who is behind all these terror attacks before it happens? I have said this earlier I will say it again that till the time those spreading terrorism in J&K are caught alive the truth will never be known," he told ANI.
He further criticised the government, saying that it was claimed that after the abrogation of article 370, the situation was supposed to be normalised, instead calling these are "abnormal" times.
"Also there is such a presence of our security forces there, what is the LG doing? Indian government has said repeatedly that after the abrogation of Article 370 the situation is normal, but are these normal times? These are even more abnormal times," he added.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned the killing of the two VDGs, and said that he is "deeply" saddened and concerned by the attack.
Abdullah further said that security forces should ensure that such attacks are stopped "completely."
"Deeply saddened & concerned by the attack that resulted in the deaths of Kuldeep Kumar & Nazeer Ahmed Padder of Kuntwara in Kishtwar, members of the local village defence committee. The terrorists killed two innocent men who had taken their livestock to graze. I condemn this attack unequivocally & send my condolences to the families. At the same time, I expect the security forces to move quickly to plug any gaps in our counter-terror grid & ensure that attacks like this stop completely," Abdullah posted on X.