Kolkata: A Day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged people of West Bengal to visit Jammu and Kashmir to increase tourism, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari requested people from Bengal not to visit any Muslim majority areas.
Talking to the media, Adhikari said that on his own responsibility and cutting party’s line he is asking Bengalis not to visit Kashmir to save their own lives.
“We have seen how after asking for religious proof people were killed in Pahalgam. ‘Jaan Pehle’ (Life comes first). Save your children, sister, mother. I want to tell Bengali people not to go to the places where Muslims are in majority. If you want to go, go to Himachal, we have Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, go to Odisha, the whole country. If you want to go, go to Jammu but not Kashmir. People of Kolkata were also killed and I have seen the tears,” said Adhikari.
Countering Adhikari’s comment, Trinamool Congress (TMC) minister Shashi Panja mentioned that Adhikari’s comment is matching with what has happened in Pahalgam.
“How can someone make a statement in Democracy? He is giving communal provocations. This is not acceptable,” said Panja.
Notably, on Thursday Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee and invited her to visit Kashmir and also emphasized that Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir should work together.
Accepting the invitation, Mamata said that she would visit Kashmir after Durga Puja celebrations and also urged people of West Bengal to visit Jammu and Kashmir.
