If Hemraj's head not returned, bring 10 heads from Pak: Sushma Swaraj

January 15, 2013

New Delhi, Jan 15: If Pakistan does not return the head of martyred soldier Hemraj, India should get at least ten heads from the other side, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said and asked the Centre to take tough action against that country.

"If his (Hemraj's) head could not be brought back (from Pakistan), we should get at least 10 heads from their side," Swaraj told reporters here after visiting Hemraj's family along with party president Nitin Gadkari and leader Rajnath Singh.

"The question is: will we sit without any reaction and engage in a dialogue? This should not happen. At least the government should react in some way. That is why we have said that government should take some tough measures," she said.sushma

Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh and Hemraj were killed on January 8 by the Pakistan Army regulars after infiltrating into Indian territory in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Today, the nation is demanding don't prove a weak government. They (Pak Army) came on the LoC, killed our soldier and took away his head with them and there should be no reaction...this should not be tolerated at any cost," she said.

Swaraj alleged the government showed lack of respect to the martyr and demanded an apology.

"The government should apologise for the apathy. They should apologise to the family of the soldier and the country. But they should at the same time take revenge for the incident which took place," she said.

Swaraj said Hemraj's wife Dharamvati was disturbed "about the lack of respect" shown by the government towards him.

"She is disturbed about two things, one is about the honour of her husband. She said I couldn't even see his face. As you know that his body arrived without the head, she is shocked at this but nobody from the government came for his final rites. The other is about the honour and dignity. Both her feelings are legitimate," Swaraj said.

"I feel it is a great neglect from the government's side. When the entire country is feeling outraged, the government didn't even inform when and how the last rites will be performed.

"It was informed that the cremation took place after the sunset, nobody from us got to know about it. But all the top officials from the government knew about it," Swaraj said.

She said there should have been sincere efforts by the government to be present at Hemraj's last rites.

"As per rules, the Defence Minister should have himself come here. If he couldn't come, the State Minister should have definitely come. The Home Minister should have come, somebody from the PMO or some State Minister should have come.

"There is army in Mathura... somebody from the Central Command in Delhi should have come. But the kind of apathy that has been shown, their grievance is genuine," she said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 29,2020

Jaipur, Mar 29: A batch of 275 Indians evacuated from coronavirus-hit Iran arrived at the Jodhpur airport on Sunday morning, an official said.

He said a preliminary screening of the passengers was conducted at the airport and thereafter, they were shifted to the Army Wellness Facility set up at the Jodhpur Military Station.

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rohit Kumar Singh said of the 275 passengers, there were 133 women and 142 men, including two infants and four children.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 7,2020

Jammu & Kashmir, Feb 7: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, besides two political stalwarts from NC and its arch-rival PDP were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the administration on Thursday, officials said.

A magistrate accompanied by police served the order to Mufti at the bungalow where she has been detained, the officials said.

Abdullah was also booked under the PSA, they said.

National Conference general secretary and former minister Ali Mohammed Sagar, who wields a support base in downtown city, was served with a PSA notice public order by the authorities.

Similarly, senior PDP leader Sartaj Madani was booked under the PSA. Madani is the maternal uncle of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.

Both Sagar and Madani were detained in the aftermath of August 5 crackdown by the Centre on politicians following abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state, besides its bifurcation into two union territories.

Their six-month preventive custody was ending on Thursday.

Earlier, the officials had said that former NC legislator Bashir Ahmed Veeri was also booked under the PSA but later it turned out that he had been released.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 29,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 29: With Saudi Arabia indefinitely suspending visas for visit to Islam's holiest site for the Umrah pilgrimage in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, more than 10,000 people in the state who are awaiting their turn this year for the annual Hajj pilgrimage are a worried lot.

"This year more than 10,000 people in Kerala have been cleared by the Hajj committee," said C Muhammed Faizy, chairman, Kerala State Hajj Committee.

"There is no cause of worry. We hope that during the time of the pilgrimage, the travel restriction by Saudi Arabia will be lifted," he said.

Umrah is a pilgrimage to the holy site that can be undertaken at any time of the year, while the annual Hajj pilgrimage has specific months according to the lunar calendar.

"The move by the Saudi Arabian Government to impose travel restriction was due to the outbreak of coronavirus. It is a preventive step to contain it. In such large gatherings, if one person is affected, it will spread to others. So we fully understand the concerns of the Saudi Government," Muhammed Faizy added.

He said that the Hajj Committee only processes the requests of annual Hajj visit pilgrims and not Umrah.

"This year we expect the Hajj pilgrimage season to be from June to August after Ramzan. But it may vary according to the Ramzan date. We are yet to get any official correspondence from the Saudi Government regarding travel restrictions," he added.

The Saudi Arabian Government suspended visas for tourists from countries affected by the coronavirus, with many having to cancel their Umrah pilgrimage at the last minute.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.