Insult to martyrs that there are no answers: Shashi Tharoor n Pulwama terror attack

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Friday said it was an “insult” to soldiers killed in the Pulwama terror attack that there are no clear answers, even a year after the incident.

“The Centre has a responsibility to keep soldiers safe on a routine movement. Where is the accountability? Who is responsible? Was there carelessness? Was there a conspiracy? Even one year after the Pulwama incident, the fact that we have no answers is an insult to the martyrs,” Mr Tharoor told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

Mr Tharoor said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is ”totally justified” for raising questions about who benefitted from the attack and what the outcome of the investigation was.

“The BJP government has tried to brush the queries under the carpet and tended to find shelter behind the flag. We are all patriots, but that does not mean that we are incompetent patriots. We cannot be irresponsible patriots”, Mr Tharoor added.

Paying his tributes to the 40 CRPF soldiers killed in the attack, Mr Tharoor said, “We mourn them, we salute their noble sacrifice. Let’s bow our head in tribute to them today”.

Mr Tharoor added that questions about the attack need to be raised and answered. “Has there been any enquiry? Was there any criminal negligence on the part of those who had the power to take decisions?” he said, in an apparent reference to the Jammu and Kashmir cop who was arrested with terrorists.

Hitting out the BJP, Mr Tharoor said the problem with the party is that they think they can “wrap the flag around them like a shield” and that makes them immune on issues of national security and defence.

“How can this party claim that they are defending India’s national security when infiltration has gone up along the LoC and more people are dying?” Mr Tharoor asked.