‘Completely condemnable’
NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the death of a tourist who was targeted by stone-pelters in Kashmir was "completely condemnable" and not "very conducive" for tourism in the Valley.
The minister also said armed forces have to be firm with terrorists and described the Kashmir issue as "very sensitive" and nuanced.
The death of R Thirumani, a 22-year-old resident of Chennai, in a stone-pelting incident near Narbal outside the outskirts of Kashmir on Monday was "absolutely unfortunate", Sitharaman said.
The incident comes just as the tourist season in Kashmir begins to gather pace with the summer setting in in large parts of the country.
"I don't know whether it (the incident) was inadvertent or (committed) knowingly but it is completely condemnable," the minister told reporters at an interaction here.
"I am sure the chief minister (Mehbooba Mufti) herself is keen on getting more tourists to Kashmir because that will also help in restoring normalcy. So, if that has been a stated desire, for a stone pelting incident to have hurt and killed a tourist, it's certainly not very conducive to that," Sitharaman said.
Responding to a question on whether the Army's tough posture in dealing with the situation in the Valley has led to a spike in militancy, the defence minister said the armed forces have to be firm with terrorists.
She said there is need to understand that the issue is very sensitive and has a great deal of nuance.
"You can't hold the armed forces responsible for being firm with terrorists. We need to be firm with terrorists. So, we have to understand first about putting everything back at the doorstep of the Army... They have to be firm...," she said.
Sitharaman added that at the same time there needs to be free and safe movement of tourists so that normalcy can be restored in the Valley. SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday termed the death of a 22-yearold tourist whose vehicle was targeted by stone-pelters the "murder of humanity" and said the incident had rattled the mother in her.
Those who pick up stones to kill someone have no religion, an upset Mehbooba said after meeting the father of Chennai resident S Thirumani, who was holidaying in the Valley with his family and died on Monday evening at a hospital here.
The issue would be discussed and debated on television for days and "we will be silently watching the murder of humanity, which has been unheard of in the state of Jammu and Kashmir", Mehbooba said.
Saying that her head hangs in shame, the chief minister questioned the education being imparted to children.
"The mother in me is rattled about the kind of education we are imparting to our next generation," said the mother of two daughters and the first woman chief minister of the north Indian state.
"What are we teaching our children? To pick up stones and kill anyone walking on the road? This is not what our religion Islam preaches. Our religion teaches us to take care of our guests. These people or boys who pick up stones to kill someone have no religion," Mehbooba added.
She also questioned the role of parents and asked what they were turning their children into. CHENNAI: A day after a 22-year-old tourist from Tamil Nadu was killed in stone pelting in Jammu & Kashmir, Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Tuesday spoke to his counterpart Mehbooba Mufti over the phone and sought her help for the safe return of 130 tourists from his state.
R Thirumaniselvam, a city resident, suffered head injuries after being hit by a stone when a mob went on a rampage near Narbal on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday.
The chief minister, in an official release, said he had spoken to Mehbooba Mufti and sought her help for the safe return of the 130 tourists.
Condoling Tirumaniselvam's death, Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami announced a solatium of Rs three lakh to the next of kin.
The chief minister said that on his direction, Tamil Nadu House officials in New Delhi had taken all steps with the help of the Jammu & Kashmir government to bring Tirumani's body back to the state and for the safe return of the other tourists.
"I asked Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to help officials of the Tamil Nadu government for the safe return of the tourists," CM Palaniswami he said.
'Armed forces have to be firm with terrorists and described the Kashmir issue as very sensitive and nuanced'