'Has Modi told Rajnath no one has died?': Subramanian Swamy slams Defence Minister, PM on Doda attacks

Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has been sharpening his attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi of late, which have been fuelled by the terrorist attack in Doda that has left four Army officials, including a major and a police personnel, dead.

In a post on social media platform X, Swamy said, "Our Defence Minister and a decent man, Rajnath says that he is sad that so many army jawans have been killed. Then, what will he do? Has Modi told him “koi bahar se aaya nahin aur koi yanha marra nahin”. Attahe (therefore)? Vishram?"

The "koi bahar se aaya nahin" reference is likely a jibe at Modi's statement in 2020 that no one had intruded into India's territory during the China-India faceoff at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Swamy had in October 2023 approached the Delhi High Court over the alleged failure of authorities to provide details of 'Chinese encroachment on Indian territory' from the central government under the Right to Information Act.

Swamy has been railing against BJP top leaders like Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for some time now. When the Modi government declared June 25 as the 'murder of Constitution day', Swamy remarked on X "What was Mody [Modi] or Amit Shah’s contribution to actively opposing the Emergency?", adding, "Credit snitching is a bad disease."

Besides Swamy, the Opposition has also been attacking the BJP over the number of terrorist attacks leading to death of Army officials that have been taking place in Jammu and Kashmir recently.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X, "These continuous terrorist attacks are revealing the poor condition of Jammu and Kashmir. Our soldiers and their families are bearing the brunt of BJP's wrong policies."

Gandhi further said, "It is the demand of every patriotic Indian that the government should take full responsibility for the repeated security lapses and take strict action against the culprits who harm the country and the soldiers."

Reports said that five soldiers and a policeman were wounded after chasing terrorists who fled into the forest following a brief, 20-minute encounter. Despite being evacuated to the hospital, four of the soldiers later died from their injuries.

Among the fallen soldiers was Major Brijesh Thappa of the 10 Rashtriya Rifles, who had recently been promoted.

The Army’s Nagrota-based White Knight Corps confirmed initial reports of injuries but did not provide specifics. The clash began when terrorists, hiding in the forest, suddenly opened fire on a security forces party conducting searches in the area.

This was the second major attack on the Army in the Jammu region within the past 10 days. On July 8, five soldiers were killed and five others injured in a sudden and fierce attack by heavily-armed terrorists on an Army vehicle in Kathua district.

Terrorist activities, initially concentrated in Poonch and Rajouri districts, have now spread across Jammu, which had been free from terrorism until a few years ago. In the past 32 months, 48 soldiers have been killed in action in the Jammu region.

With DHNS, DH Web Desk inputs