Mumbai: Terming the United Nations’ (UN) move of designating Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist a diplomatic win for India, the Shiv Sena on Friday lashed out at the Congress for questioning its timing.
In an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece Saamana' it said that the timing was inconsequential in the fight against terror.
The UN on Wednesday designated Azhar as a “global terrorist” after China lifted its hold on a proposal to blacklist the Pakistan-based JeM chief, a decade after New Delhi approached the world body for the first time on the issue.
“Pakistan runs a factory of terrorism and Azhar is its director... He is the number one enemy of India. He is the chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terror organisation. He is not only responsible for the terror activities in Kashmir, but was also behind the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai,” the Sena said.
“Breaking India into pieces is Azhar’s dream. This devil was also behind the deadly Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 jawans. Although he claimed responsibility for the attack, Congress leaders and opponents of Narendra Modi alleged that this had been done for political gain ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,” the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.
The Sena further said that it was unfortunate that the Congress even asked what India gained from the UN’s listing of Azhar as a “global terrorist”.
The editorial further said, “Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath went to the extent of questioning the timing of the UN move. There might be fear in his mind that it may benefit Mr Modi during the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. But he should ask the UN about its timing,” the Sena said.
The party stressed that one should not think of the timing and emotions when dealing with terrorists.
The Sena praised Mr Modi over the UN move saying, “This is a victory for Indian diplomacy... Earlier, Mr Modi did air strikes in Balakot and now cracked down on Azhar through the UN... This is why people believe in Mr Modi's strong leadership.”
