'Either in jail or jahannum': Union Minister Nityanand Rai clarifies Modi government's stand on J-K terror attacks

Terrorists active in Jammu and Kashmir will either land in jail or be sent to 'jahannum' (hell), Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday while asserting that the Modi government has zero tolerance for terrorism.

Rai was replying to a supplementary question from Congress MP Pramod Tiwari.

Terrorist activities witnessed recently will soon end, the minister said. "They (terrorists) will not succeed in their design," he added. In the past few days, 28 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir and some security personnel have also lost their lives, which is very unfortunate, Rai said.

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 and 2014 when the UPA was ruling at the Centre, there 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, Rai said. "These should not have happened. It is unfortunate but they (the 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 percent since 2014. Besides, there is also a reduction of 69 percent in terror incidents.

People in Jammu and Kashmir are now living in a peaceful environment and there is a full guarantee of security, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)

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