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Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh BJP leader Harshvardhan Bajpai, the MLA from Allahabad North seat, has appealed to people to not compare India’s Muslims with Pakistan’s, and hailed Kashmiris for helping the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Speaking to ThePrint, he said Pakistan planned the attack as it wants to “finish Kashmir’s tourism by dividing the Valley with Hindu-Muslim tension”.
“Their plan is very clear, we should understand this,” he added.
Bajpai’s remark comes at a time when the Pahalgam terrorists’ targeting of Hindu tourists has sparked communal backlash on social media.
Some statements have come even from within his party. “Dharm poochha, jaati nahi… (the terrorists asked for the religion, not caste),” read a Chhattisgarh BJP post on X.
“One should not compare Indian Muslims with Pakistani’s,” Bajpai told the media Friday. “Kashmiri Muslims helped many Hindus during the incident. This is an attack on Kashmir’s tourism. Local Kashmiris also condemned the attack by keeping a shutter down strike (hartal) in Srinagar the very next day.”
“My stand is very clear as I also understand geopolitics and international affairs. It is very clear that Pakistan has planned this attack. Their army general was also involved. They want to finish Kashmir’s tourism by dividing the Valley with Hindu-Muslim communal tension. Their plan is very clear; we should understand this,” the MP told ThePrint.
Bajpai appealed to both Hindus and Muslims to stay united to derail Pakistan’s plan. “I heard that Kashmiri students are being targeted in several colleges and universities after the Pahalgam attack. This is shameful. We should not forget how a Kashmiri ponywallah helped so many tourists during the terror attack. Did he check religion while extending the help? It is true that those terrorists asked about religion, but not these Kashmiris. We should not target Kashmiris.”
Bajpai also claimed those targeting Kashmiris are actually harming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to bring peace to the Valley. “Due to his efforts, voting percentage also increased in the recently held election as the public started showing faith in the government and democratic set up after the revocation of Article 370.”
This is not the first time Bajpai has expressed a view in contrast with the dominant belief within his party. He also opposed the Nazul Properties Bill in the Uttar Pradesh assembly in July 2024 and spoke against his own government. The bill prevents conversion of Nazul (owned by the government) land into private freehold.
Bajpai had said the law would negatively impact longstanding residents, including those in the slums of Prayagraj. He said it would lead to displacement of families who have lived on these lands since the British era.
The bill was eventually stalled in the Upper House and referred to a House select committee for wider discussions.
Hailing from UP’s Prayagraj, the 44-year-old Bajpai is a second-term MLA from the Prayagraj North assembly segment. He Bajpai joined the BJP in 2016 after leaving the Bahujan Samaj Party where he unsuccessfully contested the 2007 and 2012 assembly polls.
His mother, Ranjana Bajpai, was also active in politics when she held a position as the women’s wing chief in the Samajwadi Party between 2013 and 2017. His father, Ashok Bajpai, is a former Congress MLA (1980-1985) from the same seat.(The print)
