Cooperators of all sectors from fertilizer to urban cooperative banks to dairy cooperatives have condemned the dastardly attack on CRPF personnel in south Kashmir’s Awantipora area on Thursday which claimed the life of 39 CRPF personnel.
In his tweet IFFCO MD Dr U S Awasthi wrote “My salutations & prayers for the brave martyrs of #CRPF, who lost their lives for the nation or got injured in #Pulwama attack. It’s sad & tragic news. The entire nation stands with them.”
Writing his message against a black backdrop NAFCUB President Jyotindra Mehta wrote on his FB wall “in this moment of grief on the martyrdom of our jawans the entire nation stands by Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
NCUI President Chandra Pal said “since cooperative is a part of society we are shocked to hear about the loss of life of our CRPF Jawans. Cooperators of the country are united to stand by our force. Several other cooperators including Dilip Sanghani, Sunil Kumar Singh, among others have condemned the dastardly act.
The incident has attracted widespread condemnation from political class to Bollywood and from sports to industry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on twitter “Attack on CRPF personnel in Pulwama is despicable. I strongly condemn this dastardly attack. The sacrifices of our brave security personnel shall not go in vain. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of the brave martyrs. May the injured recover quickly.”
Expressing his anger of the incident, cricketer Gautam Gambhir said: “Yes, let’s talk with the separatists. Yes, let’s talk with Pakistan. But this time conversation can’t be on the table, it has to be in a battle ground. Enough is enough. 18 CRPF personnel killed in IED blast on Srinagar-Jammu highway.”
The Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries has announced a peaceful bandh in Jammu tomorrow as a sign of protest against today’s attack, news agency ANI has reported.
In a parallel development, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has blamed Pakistan for the attack and called for a ban on terror outfits “operating from territories controlled by Pakistan.
“We reiterate our appeal to members of the international community to support proposal to list terrorists, including JeM chief (Masood Azhar) as a designated terrorist under 1267 Sanctions Committee of Un Security Council,” an MEA statement said.
“This terror group is led by international terrorist Masood Azhar, who has been given full freedom by Government of Pakistan to operate and expand his terror infrastructure in territories under the control of Pakistan and to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere with impunity,” the statement said.