Within hours of the horrifying attack on a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama which left 40 CRPF dead and over 30 injured ,  questions are being raised on what went wrong. The big question is how could a SUV laden with 350 kgs of explosives reach the convoy on the highway bypassing security cordons which are a norm on the state highways.

While a political battle was triggered by the comments of Union Minister Jitendra Singh. It was around 4 pm in the afternoon, an explosive-laden SUV driven by a suicide bomber,  rammed a bus in a 78-vehicle CRPF convoy. The resulting blast – deadliest in years — has left around 40 people dead., its more severe than the Uri attack in which 19 soldiers had died in September 2016 when four terrorists had targetted a CRPF camp.

As political leaders, cutting across party lines, united to express shock and grief, Mr Singh, a minister of state for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office, made some remarks that were seen as critical of a section of politicians in the Kashmir Valley. His comments didnt go down well with the Opposition leaders and the people in general.  The Prime minister was quick to condemn the attack and warned Pakistan that the guilty will not be spared. Opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condemned the attack and hoped that the government will act on the matter.

“It is a dastardly act done out of desperation,” Mr Singh said during an interview to news agency ANI. “I call to question those who while living in India and describing themselves as mainstream Kashmir politicians, tend to be apologetic about these terror activities sponsored from across Indian soil,” the minister was quoted as saying by ANI.

His comments drew a sharp reaction from the mainstream politicians of Kashmir. Former Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, bitter rivals known for their tiffs on twitter, found themselves on the same side.

The initial investigation into the attack reflected that there was a clear-cut intelligence failure and also that the adequate procedures were not followed in movement of the convoy. The question remains will those responsible for negligence will ever pay a price .