Mehbooba Mufti says attack on Kashmiris in Lucknow 'communalises atmosphere before polls'; Omar Abdullah, Owaisi condemn incident

A day after two Kashmiri youths were attacked by saffron-clad men in Lucknow, the main accused Bajrang Sonkar was arrested by the local police after a video of the incident went viral on social media. Sonkar, who claims to be the president of the Vishwa Hindu Dal (VHD), and other members of the fringe outfit attacked the two youths who were selling dry fruits in Lucknow’s Daliganj area. The youths were saved by a passer-by, who insisted that the VHD members not take law into their hands. The incident was a reminder of various incidents of harassment of Kashmiris all over India after the 14 February Pulwama attack. The incident invited the ire of many, with former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah blaming incidents like these for making Kashmiris feel like ‘they don’t belong to this country’, calling it ‘an attempt to communalise the atmosphere before polls’.

Nothing will do more damage to the idea of India in J&K than videos like these. Keep thrashing Kashmiris like this on the streets at the hands of RSS/Bajrang Dal goons & then try to sell the idea of “atoot ang”, it simply wont fly. https://t.co/MYkuEuDLjj

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 7, 2019

You humiliate & assault Kashmiris. Make them feel like criminals & that they dont belong to this country. Why are you surprised then when young pliable men are taken under the wings of terror groups & indoctrinated? https://t.co/0hLydjRP0Q

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) March 7, 2019

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Kashmiris are being hounded & punished. The culprits here were clad in saffron kurtas & are from VHD. They have no fear & in fact uploaded the video on SM. GoIs conspicuous silence is actually a political tactic to encourage such elements & communalise the atmosphere until polls. https://t.co/PuSZsZyiyY

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) March 7, 2019

Sir @PMOIndia @CMOfficeUP will you walk the talk and arrest these bloody goons https://t.co/12cLKYNSJi

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) March 6, 2019

The fire from Pulwama is not only singeing innocent Kashmiris elsewhere in India. An old friend from Kanpur said his daughter in prep school was told she is a Muslim and a terrorist. She came back and asked: Abba, what is a Muslim!

This thuggery must stop immediately. https://t.co/koT6leEzAv

— Rahul Pandita (@rahulpandita) March 7, 2019

The arrest of the VHD members invited some relief on social media, with many even praising the man who defended the Kashmiri youths when they were being attacked.

Arrests by @Uppolice of the thugs who thrashed the Kashmiri vendor.. Good.. Keep them there for a long long time. https://t.co/Kww873N56m

— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) March 7, 2019

Any thug who attacks a Kashmiri in another part of their own country is acting as a Pakistani agent - by implying that Kashmir isn’t part of India. Anyone who stops the thugs is a true patriot. I’m sure the patriots vastly outnumber the thugs. https://t.co/1zNEhA6wFr

— Vikram Chandra (@vikramchandra) March 7, 2019

Dear @MehboobaMufti ji
A powerful aspect of such incidents is that common citizens across the Nation stoodup with Kashmiris as fellow citizens much like when anyone from other state is attacked in any other state. We care & embrace one other as One. Let's also tell this story. https://t.co/6HJW7IzV5k

— Ghanshyam Tiwari (@ghanshyamtiwari) March 7, 2019