Bengaluru: BJP Yuva Morcha National President and Member of Parliament Tejasvi Surya shared heartfelt stories of the families affected in the Pahalgam terror attack with whom he travelled on the same flight that carried the mortal remains.
Speaking to the media at the Bengaluru International Airport after paying respects, Surya recounted how Pallavi, the wife of Manjunath Rao, who was shot dead in front of her, insisted on preserving his bloodstained jacket to hold on to the memories of her husband.
He also shared the emotional scene involving the three-year-old son of another victim, Bharat Bhushan. The child, unaware of his father’s death, was seen playing with a mobile phone and pointing out aeroplanes to his mother through the window.
“Three people from Karnataka were brutally murdered in the terror attack in Pahalgam. In coordination with the Union Home Ministry, local authorities, and the state government, we ensured that the mortal remains and the surviving family members reached Bengaluru safely,” Surya stated.
“I personally accompanied the families from Srinagar to Bengaluru. At the airport, the formalities of handing over the mortal remains were completed, and with a heavy heart, we paid our final respects to the victims,” he said.
“In recent times, this has been one of the most barbaric and cowardly attacks. Bharat Bhushan’s three-year-old son, too young to comprehend death, was on the same flight that carried his father’s body. The boy was excitedly pointing at aeroplanes outside the window and showing them to his newly widowed mother. To console him, she handed him a mobile phone to play games.”
Surya continued, “Abhi, the son of Manjunath Rao, had just completed his Class 12 board exams and scored 96 per cent. This was their first family vacation, and it was the first time they had all travelled by flight. He told me that this trip turned out to be the first and the last flight his father ever took.”
He added, “Pallavi, Manjunath’s wife, showed immense strength. She wore a jacket stained with her husband’s blood and said she would not clean it, as it held the final memories of him.”
Surya also shared that another family shielded elderly relatives from hearing the tragic news immediately. “It was families like these — ordinary, innocent civilians — against whom the terrorists carried out such inhuman atrocities,” he said.
“The Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, has already announced a series of initial measures in response,” he stated.
“At this moment, we stand in complete solidarity with the Government of India and with the grieving families,” Surya said.
He emphasised that the Indian Army and other concerned agencies are highly capable and will respond to the attack in a language the enemy understands, and at a time and manner of their choosing.
“As citizens of this country, it is our responsibility to have full faith in our national leadership and the competence and capabilities of our armed forces. We must stand by them in the actions they take,” he urged.
“The Government of India, along with the Indian Army and all involved agencies, will deliver a befitting response to this act of terror,” he reiterated.
(IANS)
