Pulwama attack: BJP cautious, party leaders asked to meet families of victims, avoid calls for war

Conscious of the public anger over the Pulwama attack, the ruling BJP is treading cautiously and has asked its leaders to share the emotions and sorrow of the families of security personnel killed in the attack.

It began with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman briefing the party’s spokespersons at the BJP headquarters immediately after the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Friday. According to party sources, Jaitley told them that no one should make “war-mongering” or “political” statements over the terror attack. “The spokespersons have been strictly told they should handle it sensitively,” said a source.

With the Congress also choosing to react in a measured way, the BJP spokespersons were asked not to make any statements about the attack and almost all party programmes were cancelled on Friday. “No politicising the issue,” said a party leader.