A few hours after the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on Thursday, February 14, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah was busy attacking his political opponents at a rally in Hospet, Karnataka; Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal met All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leaders to discuss the seat-sharing arrangement ahead of the Lok Sabha polls; Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was addressing a poll rally in Kerala when the incident happened; BJP Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari was dancing on stage just after more than 40 CRPF jawans lost their lives in the attack.
In his rally, Shah mocked Rahul Gandhi saying, “I ask ”Rahul Baba” (Congress president Rahul Gandhi) who is the leader of your Mahagathbandhan?” The BJP chief also made political statements against Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and underlined that a grand Ram Temple was high on the BJP’s agenda and accused Congress of “obstructing” the construction. The BJP’s official Twitter handle even posted a tweet telecasting his speech live. In the video, Shah can be seen laughing and making political statements while addressing the audience.
Shri @AmitShah is addressing intellectuals meet in Hospet, Karnataka. https://t.co/6FoYLaqEW2
— BJP (@BJP4India) February 14, 2019
The party president’s conduct did not sit well with many social media users.
Amit Shah: Doing Rally
Yogi: Doing Rally.
Modi: Doing Rally
Manoj Tiwari: Partying
Media: Blaming Opposition
Bhakts: Balming JNU , Izlam and Abusing people who are questioning govt and failure of politics.
Welcome to New India
— nehr_who (@Nehr_who) February 14, 2019
Amit Shah’s stern response to the #Pulwama terror attack that killed 40. Take that, Pakistan! https://t.co/VnCksfpXKH
— PKR | প্রশান্ত | پرشانتو (@prasanto) February 15, 2019
Even when 40 #CRPF soldiers have been martyred, BJP President @AmitShah is busy campaigning in Karnataka.
Every one in BJP should hang their heads in shame. For BJP, nothing comes before self-promotion!#Pulwama #KashmirTerrorAttack #PulwamaTerrorAttack #PulwamaAttack https://t.co/KHlxdPoqhX
— Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) February 14, 2019
Goyal reportedly took a chartered flight and flew to Chennai for the party meeting. He met several leaders and remained busy with party activities. Goyal simply put a tweet on his account saying that he is “deeply saddened” like his other party colleagues.
Deeply saddened by news of the IED blast in #Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir in which our brave CRPF Jawans have been martyred. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with our injured Jawans to recover soon.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 14, 2019
Goyal too was called out by social media users, especially considering that he is a member of the Cabinet Committee on Security.
Shameful @PiyushGoyal . https://t.co/Fz7vSUthng
— Abhisar Sharma (@abhisar_sharma) February 14, 2019
A live video was also shared on Adityanath’s Facebook page from Pathanamthitta in Kerala He addressed a BJP rally and suggested that an ‘Ayodhya Model’ of protests should be taken out at Sabarimala. He added that the Supreme Court verdict allowing the entry of women of all ages into the temple has hurt the ‘sentiments’ of Hindus.
https://www.facebook.com/MYogiAdityanath/videos/291846244836502/
Similarly, Tiwari participated in a cultural programme and danced and sang on stage. A live video was shared on Facebook which was later deleted after he was vehemently criticised.
इस वक़्त रिन्किया के पापा क्या कर रहे हैं LIVE आप भी देखिये
देस गमगीन है और मनोज तिवरिया नाच गा रहे हैं ।
— Abhisar Sharma (@abhisar_sharma) February 14, 2019
Dear @ManojTiwariMP. 40 CRPF jawans were martyred earlier this evening. Surely your song and dance could have waited for another day? https://t.co/XrH11vHPwV
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) February 14, 2019
Oh My God! And this MP had pulled up a school teacher for requesting him to sing for students. To that teacher, he had asked, “Aapko itna bhi nahi pata yaha kya ho rha hai”. Same question to you, our Delhi MP https://t.co/knmTVM5uGJ
— SaahilMurli Menghani (@saahilmenghani) February 14, 2019
… और जब एक कार्यक्रम में महिला टीचर ने पूरे अदब के साथ इनसे गाने की रिक्वेस्ट की थी, तो इनके तेवर याद हैं ना? https://t.co/weAjvgoYfZ
— Poonam Pandey (@pandeypoonam20) February 14, 2019
42 जवानों की शहादत हुई है, उनके परिवारों का दर्द साझा करने के बजाय
माननीय भाजपा सांसद मनोज तिवारी जी गाना गा रहे हैं….ओढनिया वाली से प्यार का इज़हार कर रहे हैंमनोज भाई कम से कम आज तो शहीदों की शहादत का लिहाज कर लेते !#PulwanaAttack https://t.co/ds4zavvAIR
— Imran Pratapgarhi (@ShayarImran) February 14, 2019
Tiwari posted a tweet on the incident:
स्तब्ध हुँ…. समझ में नहीं आ रहा कि… ग़ुस्से और आँसुओं को कैसे रोकूँ.. ये बलिदान व्यर्थ नहीं जाना चाहिये माँ..
आज @BJP4Delhi का सभी संगठनात्मक कार्य रद्द किये जाते हैं— Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) February 15, 2019
However, Twitterati were quick to point out that he was busy dancing and singing soon after the incident.
आप तो कल रात से ही स्तब्ध थे, आपकी स्तब्धता कल पूरा देश लाइव देख रहा था, जब आप लाइव स्तब्ध होकर गा रहे थे
हो गइल बा प्यार ओढनिया वाली से !वाह री सियासत
रात में नाच गाना और दिन में मातम https://t.co/8frZ6uP2wl
— Imran Pratapgarhi (@ShayarImran) February 15, 2019
स्तब्ध हूँ कि कल रात नाचते, गाते और मज़ा करते हुए भारत माता के सपूत की एक बार भी याद नहीं आई जिस तरह एक टीचर को सार्वजनिक मंच पर जलील करने के दौरान तुरंत अपने संसद होने का अभिमान याद आ गया था। https://t.co/YNRPRwjM49
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) February 15, 2019
Even after announcing that the BJP will cancel all scheduled activities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Jhansi and also inaugurated a train a day after the terrorist attack.
Also read: Day After Major Terrorist Attack, PM Modi’s Photo Op At Vande Bharat Express Inauguration