The BJP on Thursday, 21 February, expressed its disagreement over Meghalaya Governor Tathagata Roy's tweet backing the boycott of "everything Kashmiri" following the Pulwama terror attack and said the party did not agree with his views.
"I don't agree with his tweet. Matter ends there," party leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Roy on Tuesday, 19 February, stoked controversy after he supported a call for a boycott of "everything Kashmiri", including the Amarnath Yatra and purchasing Kashmiri products.
Roy, who describes himself as a right-wing Hindu socio-political thinker, writer and ideologue on Twitter, went on the micro-blogging site to air his views.
"An appeal from a retired colonel of the Indian Army: Don't visit Kashmir, don't go to Amarnath for the next 2 years. Don't buy articles from Kashmir emporia or Kashmiri tradesman who come every winter. Boycott everything Kashmiri. I am inclined to agree," he tweeted.
The BJP leader-turned-governor also referred to the Pakistan Army "who are handling the Kashmiri separatists" and its role in "East Pakistan", mentioning war crimes like slaughter and rape.
"... And they would have kept East Pakistan but for the whacking from India," Roy tweeted.
"I am not suggesting that we go that far. But at least some distance?" he wrote.
‘Sack Tathagata Roy’: GuV’s Comments Invoke Sharp Reactions
Roy's comments come in the wake of the 14 February terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.
However, Roy’s comments were not well received by many Twitter users. One of the people to sharply criticise his comments was National Conference leader and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah.
PDP Chief and former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti called for Roy’s immediate sacking.
Many others also took to twitter to slam Roy for his comments.
In His Own Defence...
After facing flak for his comments, Roy once again took to Twitter to defend them and said that he was receiving “vociferously violent reactions from media and several others.”
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