Over the series of terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that terrorsts active in the Union Territory will be sent to either jail or hell, using the Hindi term 'jahannum' for it.
Replying to a supplementary question from Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, Nityanand Rai said on Wednesday, "Terrorist activities witnessed recently will soon end... they will not succeed in their design."
In the last 45 days, there have been 15 terror incidents in the Jammu region, resulting in the loss of lives of 10 security personnel, including two officers, as well as nine pilgrims and injuries to 58 others.
Nityanand Rai said 28 terrorists have been killed in the past few days in Jammu and Kashmir and some security personnel have also lost their lives, which is very unfortunate.
According to the minister, security forces have killed about 900 terrorists in the region after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
"Modi government has zero tolerance for terrorism. We will end terrorism. They [terrorists] will be either in jail or jahannum... I want to assure the House," Rai said.
Between 2004-2014 when the UPA was ruling at the Centre, there were were 7,217 incidents of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The number came down to 2,259 from 2014, when the BJP was voted to power, and July 21 this year, news agency PTI quoted Rai as saying.
"These should not have happened. It is unfortunate but they (opposition) should not do politics over it," the minister said.
In 2019, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
Rai told the House that 2,829 citizens and security personnel lost their lives between 2004 and 2014. This number has come down by 67 per cent since 2014. Besides, there is also reduction of 69 per cent in terror incidents.
