Take steps to restore peace in J-K: Rahul tells Modi amid targeted killings

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate steps to restore peace in Kashmir, saying innocent people are being killed in the valley and Kashmiri Pandits are fleeing.

"Bank manager, teacher and many innocent people are getting killed every day, Kashmiri Pandits are fleeing. Those who have to protect them have no time as they are busy promoting the film. The BJP has only made Kashmir to attain power," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"Take immediate steps to restore peace in Kashmir, Prime Minister ji," he said.

Gandhi also shared a collage of pictures of those killed in the last few days that said, "The horror of targeted killings in Kashmir".

The Union Territory has been rattled by a string of targeted killings in the recent months, with Vijay Kumar, a manager with the Ilaquai Dehati Bank, being shot in Kulgam district on Thursday. Kumar was a native of Rajasthan.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also hit out at the BJP government and shared media reports showing purported photos of Kashmiri Pandits queuing up at Srinagar airport while fleeing the Valley.

"100 Kashmiri Hindu families have migrated. The panic-stricken crowd is not the one in Ukraine but at Srinagar airport! Today again, terrorists killed a bank manager Vijay Beniwal, a resident of Nohar, Rajasthan. Why don't the BJP leaders of Rajasthan who are engaged in 'dismemberment of democracy' demand action from Modi ji," Surjewala asked in a tweet in Hindi.

Terrorists shot dead Kumar inside the bank premises, the eighth targeted killing in the Valley since May 1 and the third of a non-Muslim government employee.

Various political parties have attacked the BJP over the Kashmir situation and sought answers from the local administration for the spurt in targeted killings.