BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Chander Jangra has courted controversy after he claimed that if the women present during the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack had fought back, their husbands might still be alive, or they themselves would have become martyrs. He further criticised the victims’ families, saying they lacked the “passion and spirit” to resist the terrorists who claimed 26 lives.
“Aur agar wahan par jo hamari virangnaein behne thin, jinki maang ka sindoor cheen lia gaya, agar unhone ahilya bai ka itihas padha hota to unke samne unke pati ko koi nirapradh is tareeke se goli nahi maar sakta tha, chahe wo bhi shaheed ho jati. Josh nahi tha, jazba nahi tha. Dil nahi tha, islie hath jod kar goliyon ka shikar ho gain [And if the brave women, our sisters there, whose vermilion was wiped off, had read the history of Ahilyabai, then no one could have shot their innocent husbands like that in front of them. Even if they had to become martyrs themselves. There was no passion, no spirit, no heart, that’s why they folded their hands and became victims of bullets],” he said.
“Lekin haath jodne se koi chhodta nahin. Hamare aadmi vahan par haath jodkar maare gaye [Terrorists do not leave one with requests. Our people died with folded hands],” PTI reported him as saying.
He went on to say that if tourists had undergone military training, they wouldn’t have been killed by the terrorists. “Agar yaatri training pass kiye hote, to teen ugarvaadi 26 logon ko nahin mar sakte the [Had our tourists passed the training, then three terrorists could not have killed 26 people],” the BJP MP said, according to PTI.
He, in response to a question, also suggested that if tourists had fought back, there would have been a fewer casualties.
“Bilkul ladna chahihye tha. Aur agar ladte, to kam shahadat hoti aur kam log maare jaate. Haath jodne se kaun chhodta hai? Wo to maarne ke liye aaye the…Vo to aatankvaadi the. Unke dil mein daya thodi thi [Had they (tourists) fought, the casualties would have been less. They (terrorists) had come with the intention to kill people. They did not have mercy],” Jangra further said, according to PTI.
While sharing a clip of BJP MP from the event, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda said, “Those whose husbands were killed by terrorists in the Pahalgam attack, now this BJP MP from Haryana, Ramchandra, is working to ruin their dignity,” before adding, “This is a very disgusting comment.”
He further said, “The BJP is constantly insulting the families of martyrs. This should be stopped.”
पहलगाम हमले में आतंकियों ने जिनके सुहाग उजाड़ दिए, अब उनकी मर्यादा उजाड़ने का काम हरियाणा के ये भाजपा सांसद रामचंद्र जी कर रहे हैं।
— Deepender Singh Hooda (@DeependerSHooda) May 24, 2025
ये बेहद घृणित टिप्पणी है, भाजपा की तरफ से लगातार शहीद परिवारों का अपमान हो रहा है। इस पर लगाम लगनी चाहिए। pic.twitter.com/h6mtdm5OLW
Former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav too reacted to the BJP MP’s remarks, saying, “Even the word ‘condemnable’ would object to writing this disgusting statement of the BJP MP about the victimised women of Pahalgam. Instead of worshipping women, insulting them, condemning them and exploiting and harassing them in every possible way is the real face of the BJP, which is both disgusting and extremely shameful.”
He went on to say that “BJP is not a party but a swamp of anti-women mentality”.
