In a scathing editorial carried in its mouthpiece Saamana, Shiv Sena (UBT) has heavily criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Kashmir policy, claiming that terrorism still persists and blaming the government's Kashmir policy for failure during his period of rule.
The party blamed the ongoing violence on religious hatred being encouraged within India.
The editorial contended, "This issue will not be resolved by threatening Pakistan.". Such threats may please PM Modi’s supporters, but they do little to solve the problem. Pakistan’s back was meant to be broken, but in Pahalgam, terrorists struck against those falsely claiming to be protectors of Hindus.” The party continued to claim that Modi and other leaders are issuing hollow threats to Pakistan while, in reality, terrorists are crossing into India, targeting innocent Hindus. "Kashmir is unrestful under BJP's regime. What else should one anticipate when the country is immersed in religious hatred?" the editorial proclaimed.
The article stressed that the majority of victims of terrorist attacks over the past few months were Hindus, in addition to a few Muslims. The editorial faulted the intelligence organizations for their inability to deter the recent Pahalgam attack as a direct result of government mishandling. It also challenged the National Security Advisor's position, calling him "James Bond" sarcastically. Citing the previous assurances made by the government, it quoted the earlier statements of Modi: "Now the backs of terrorists will be broken" after demonetization, and "Terrorism in the valley is over" after scrapping Article 370. The editorial contended that these assurances are not yet fulfilled, and the violence in the region is still going on unrelentingly.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) editorial also pointed out disturbing statistics after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, stating that 197 security personnel, 135 civilians, and 700 militants have been killed in Kashmir alone since then. "Hindus are being singled out," it further stated, citing the fact that the assurances given by Modi to the Kashmiri Pandits during the 2014 elections have not been fulfilled. The BJP government, which presents itself as the custodian of Hindus, was indicted in the editorial for not keeping the community secure in Kashmir with even many Kashmiri Hindus being uprooted.
The editorial also accused the BJP government of spreading seeds of Hindu-Muslim conflict all over the country, which resulted in mass violence. It blamed the government for reducing poor Muslim property to rubble using bulldozers while generating an atmosphere of divisiveness. The article questioned why the BJP tactics, which according to it have succeeded in Gujarat, failed to succeed in Kashmir, and referred to the politicization of intelligence and security agencies.
On the issue of the recent Pahalgam terrorist strike, the editorial lashed out at the absence of security at tourist destinations. It narrated how, even with more than 2,000 tourists in Pahalgam, the zone was left without security. The terrorists, who were clothed in the army uniform, attacked the tourists, and 26 of them were slaughtered while the rest took away a haunting message: "Tell Modi what happened here."
The editorial also accused Home Minister Amit Shah of failing to take responsibility for the attack. It said that while political leaders like Mamata Banerjee are held accountable for violence in their states, the central government refuses to acknowledge its own failures. The piece pointed to multiple terror attacks under Modi’s leadership, including Uri and Pulwama, with a consistent failure to prevent such atrocities.
Lastly, the editorial recalled the 2019 election manifesto of the BJP, where the party had promised the abrogation of Article 370 and the safeguarding of Hindus in Kashmir.
The editorial criticized the government for celebrating the abrogation of Article 370 as a political win while leaving the people it had promised to save behind.
It asserted that while taking over the area through the Governor, the Modi government has not been able to ensure security, as reflected in the recent terrorist attack at Pahalgam. The editorial ended by reaffirming that the PM Modi Kashmir policy has been a failure.
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