Govt has turned battle against terror into battle against Kashmiris, Muslims: Sitaram Yechury
New Delhi, Mar 4: There has been an "orchestrated effort" by the BJP and the RSS to rouse "jingoistic nationalism" after the Pulwama terror attack and the government has turned the battle against terrorism into one against Muslims and Kashmiris, the CPI(M) alleged Monday.
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the government must step up diplomatic efforts to present an united India against terrorism in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack of February 14, in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives.
"A united India rose against terrorism. Instead of strengthening this, the post-Pulwama developments are seeing an orchestrated effort by the BJP and Sangh Parivar outfits to rouse jingoistic nationalism.
"The targeting of Kashmiris in various parts of the country, the calls for abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A are all turning this battle of Indians against terrorism into battles against Kashmiris and Muslims to further deepen the communal polarisation," he said.
He said the present situation in Jammu and Kashmir was the result of failed policies in the state and claimed that during the course of the present government, terror incidents saw a rise of 176 per cent.
The number of security personnel killed saw a rise of 93 per cent. On an average, eleven terrorists infiltrated every month between 2014 and 2018, he claimed.
Yechury said that what was more dangerous was the sharp rise in local Kashmiri youths joining terror groups, from 16 such cases in 2013 to 164 in 2018.
"This deepening alienation of Kashmiri youth is a consequence of the Modi government reneging on its promises to initiate a political process of dialogue with all the stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir and the implementation of confidence building measures," he said.
Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders of "politicising" the issue, he said they were disrupting the united fight of Indians against terrorism for their "partisan electoral benefit".
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Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London faces tech issue; returns to Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London Heathrow returned to the national capital due to a technical issue on Thursday afternoon after being airborne for nearly seven hours.
The same A350-900 aircraft VT-JRF had faced a technical issue on March 15, following which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish town of Shannon, sources said.
An Air India spokesperson said its flight AI111, operating from Delhi to London on Thursday, made a precautionary air-return to the national capital following a suspected technical issue.
"The aircraft landed safely and consistent with Air India's high safety standards, it is currently subject to extensive technical evaluations, which will require additional time to complete," the spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the sources, noises were heard in the aircraft following which it was diverted.
The spokesperson also regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the unforeseen situation and said the airline was making every effort to ensure passengers are able to continue their journey to London at the earliest.
Details about the number of passengers onboard could not be ascertained.
The aircraft operating the flight AI111 was airborne for around four hours before the decision was taken to divert the plane when it was in the Saudi Arabia airspace. In total, the plane was airborne for nearly seven hours before landing back in the national capital, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
The flight had taken off from Delhi around 6 am on Thursday and landed back at about 12.30 pm.
Air India started operating A350-900 planes from January 2024.
