tmc-delegation-visits-shelling-hit-rajouri-after-op-sindoor

A five-member TMC delegation that visited the shelling-hit Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday slammed the PM Modi-led central government for neglecting the border areas.

 

The delegation said they were returning with “broken hearts” after witnessing the tragedy caused by the Pakistani shelling and expressed solidarity with the people. The region became a target of the unprecedented shelling from the Pakistani army following Operation Sindoor.

 

The TMC delegation — comprising MPs Derek O’Brien, Sagarika Ghose, and Mohd Nadimul Haque, West Bengal minister Manas Bhunia, and former parliamentarian Mamata Thakur — is on the last day of its three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

 

The delegation then visited the GMC Rajouri, where they interacted with the injured and also received a briefing about the measures taken to treat them.

Expressing their condolences to the families who lost their kin, Rajya Sabha member Ghose said they came to Rajouri to assure the affected people that the people of West Bengal and India were standing with them.

 

“We are here with a five-member delegation and public representatives from West Bengal. Over the past two days, we have been visiting the border areas. Yesterday, we were in Poonch,” she told reporters. She said they visited the hospital to witness firsthand the human cost of recent events.

 

“The people living in these border areas are the most vulnerable and, sadly, the most neglected. We met Imtiaz Ahmed, who lost his hand. He was the sole breadwinner of his family, but now he would be unable to work or earn a living. He has three children and is left helpless,” she said.

 

“Why have they not received better protection? These innocent people are on the frontlines, defenceless against cross-border shelling. Why must they suffer such grave injuries?” she asked.

 

National Conference leader and former MLA Aijaz Jan expressed his gratitude to West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee for sending a delegation to Jammu and Kashmir to witness the human tragedy caused by cross-border shelling from Pakistan.

 

“We thank the team members for their visit. They came to Rajouri and Poonch, met the families of the victims and the injured, and expressed solidarity with them,” he said.