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Basharat Peer in Jammu
In the politics of compassion, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi seems to have scored a few more brownie points than her Bharatiya Janata Party rival Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani.
Her appearance on Wednesday at the Qasim Nagar and Rajiv Nagar slum clusters, which witnessed a gruesome massacre of 28 people, drew heavy applause from the residents.
The residents, in contrast, had vented their anger when Advani had visited the massacre site a few days back.
Dressed in simple green suit, she went on to distribute relief for the victims. The next of kin of the dead got Rs 25,000 each and the injured got Rs10,000.
More than the monetary relief, it was the warmth shown by Sonia that won over the hearts of the residents. She shook hands, put a consolatory hand on the shoulder of each grieving survivor and had a one-to-one talk with everyone who received relief from the Congress Relief Fund.
In her brief address to the local residents, she emphasised that the state government and the Centre should take appropriate measures to prevent such occurrences.
"For how long can humanity be murdered in cold blood? First it was families of army personnel at Kaluchak, now it is poor labourers here. It is time for the government to give serious thought to the situation and take appropriate action," the Congress chief said.
Recalling her 1988 visit to the place with former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was also her husband, she termed the massacre as a 'personal loss' as the slum dwellers were rehabilitated by Rajiv Gandhi after a devastating flood.
The twin cluster of slums later came to be known as Qasim Nagar and Rajiv Nagar.
"I am personally pained. Those who were killed cannot be brought back to life again, but I am here to share your grief, your pain," Sonia added.
She later went to meet the injured, who are under treatment at a local hospital.
After the hospital visit, Sonia left to visit the camps of the border migrants at Ranbir Singh Pora.
Observers feel it is an important political gesture given that around 80,000 people have been displaced by the border tension between India and Pakistan.
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