Farooq Abdullah Sparks Controversy with Blunt Response to Punjab Blasts

At a time when the country is rocked by two deadly blasts in Jalandhar and Amritsar in Punjab, National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah has made a highly controversial statement. He tried to downplay the sensitive incident by saying, "Blasts do happen in India, what's new in this?" His statement is likely to trigger a fresh controversy. After the twin blasts in Punjab, the media sought to know Abdullah's reaction. Speaking at the time, he said, "Blasts do happen in India, don't be scared." Abdullah's "strange" advice on such a serious issue related to the country's security came as a surprise. On Tuesday (May 5) night, two major explosions took place in Punjab within a gap of three hours. At 8 pm in Jalandhar, a delivery boy's scooty exploded outside the BSF Punjab Frontier headquarters. A suspect was seen in a CCTV camera placing an explosive device near the BSF camp in Jalandhar. Fortunately, no one was injured after the explosions.