Article 370: Shiv Sena criticizes Centre over Kashmir shutdown

Maharashtra: A Maharashtrian soldier - Sandeep Sawant hailing from from Satara was been martyred in an encounter between the forces and militants in the Noushera sector in Kashmir, stated the latest edition of Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamna editorial.

Launching a strong criticism against the Union government, the Saamna editorial stated, "In this encounter, two soldiers, including Sandeep Sawant, were martyred. In the past one month, 7-8 soldiers from Maharashtra have been martyred in Jammu and Kashmir, for which the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is not responsible. It is being said repeatedly that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is under control. But, what is the truth? The abrogation of Article 370 from the valley turned out to be a good decision. Terrorist attacks are still taking place, but they are not being reported. The noise of guns has not stopped, it is only being projected as screams of joy," the Saamna editorial said.

The editorial also strongly opposed the scrapping of Article 370 which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir. It said: "The way Indian soldiers in Kashmir are dying in Kashmir, is a clear indication that everything is not normal in Kashmir and terrorist infiltration has not stopped. We as Indian citizens should have faith when the government claims Pakistani terror targets were destroyed in the Balakot airstrike. However, the same faith goes topsy-turvy when reports of terrorist activities resuming in the same areas that were once destroyed come to fore. Bodies of our soldiers, wrapped in tricolour, reach their villages from the borders of Jammu and Kashmir every week. According to the new army chief, it is necessary for now to keep an eye on China. Their direction is right, but, the border of Pakistan is still bloodied. There is no peace in Kashmir while there is also a sense uneasiness on the Indo-China border," the Saamna editorial said.