New Delhi: In a scathing attack, Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee branded Pakistan as the “vile handler” of terrorism. He was addressing the Indian diaspora in Japan on Saturday.
The TMC leader is currently in Japan as part of an all-party delegation of MPs to present India’s stance on terrorism to the global community.
Abhishek pointed out: “If terrorism is a rabid dog, Pakistan is its vile handler. We must first unite the world to tackle this wild handler — else it will continue to breed more rabid dogs.” This marks the first detailed statement by a TMC functionary on Operation Sindoor and its aftermath.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee chose Abhishek to represent the TMC in the delegation, which is set to visit South Korea, Indonesia, and Malaysia after Japan. On Friday, the Bengal CM called on the Centre to convene a special session of Parliament once the delegations return from their international engagements.
Addressing the gathering, Abhishek described the Indian diaspora as its “biggest asset”. “You live in India, you breathe India. I want you to be the nation’s foremost evangelists — proponents of India’s message in the global fight against terrorism.”
‘Every Indian has a crucial part to play…’
Talking about the Pahalgam terror attack, he said that within 24 hours of it, a terrorist group known as TRF (The Resistance Front) claimed responsibility. TRF is a proxy outfit of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist group.
“We are all aware of how Pakistan tried to dissociate Lashkar from the list. Moreover, after the air strikes, public domain images showed senior Pakistan army officials attending the funerals of the terrorists killed in the strikes. Footage does not lie—it’s all in the open,” he pointed out.
The TMC national general secretary underlined that every Indian has a crucial part to play in involving communities and spreading this message. “We are here to convey the truth — India refuses to bow down. We will not yield to fear. We have learnt to respond in a language that they understand.”
He exhorted the Indian diaspora to share this message: India is spearheading the global fight against terrorism. “All our responses and actions have been precise, calculated, and non-escalatory.”
The TMC leader added that India gave Pakistan two weeks to act and bring the perpetrators to justice. After 14 days, it conducted the air strikes and dismantled nine terror infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “This is India, firm in resolve and honourable in action. We neutralised those terror infrastructures without endangering a single civilian life,” he underlined.
