The Bharatiya Janata Party targets Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for congratulating three photojournalists who won the Pulitzer Prize, labelling him “anti-national”. Three photojournalists from Jammu and Kashmir – Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin from the Associated Press – were awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for their “striking images of life” in the Kashmir Valley.
“Congratulations to Indian photojournalists Dar Yasin, Mukhtar Khan and Channi Anand for winning a Pulitzer Prize for their powerful images of life in Jammu & Kashmir,” Gandhi had tweeted earlier in the day. “You make us all proud.”
BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra attacked Gandhi in his tweet, alleging that the three photojournalists believed that Kashmir is a “contested” territory. “Will [Congress President] Sonia Gandhi answer?” Patra asked. “Whether she and the Congress party concur with Rahul Gandhi on the issue of Kashmir not being an integral part of India! Rahul today congratulated those who got an award for considering Kashmir as a ‘Contested Territory’!” Patra also used the hashtag #AntiNationalRahulGandhi.
The photographers captured images of protests, the police, paramilitary action and daily life in Jammu and Kashmir after the complete blackout imposed by central government in August last year in continuation to the abrogation of article 370, making it difficult for the world to know about the region.
The Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious award in journalism, had been postponed for two weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.
