We pay taxes but only VIPs get security, says grieving widow

SURAT: "Government deducts taxes from our salaries even before we receive them. We pay taxes while shopping, we pay tolls to use roads. VIPs enjoy every facility, including security convoys and helicopters. But when my husband needed protection, he got none. It seems only your (netas) lives matter, and not the common man's!"

This emotional outburst from Shital (43), the widow of Shailesh Kalathiya (44), who fell to a terrorist's bullets in Pahalgam, stunned netas including Union minister CR Paatil, Lok Sabha MP Mukesh Dalal, and Gujarat minister Harsh Sanghavi who visited the Kalathiyas' residence to mourn the tragedy. Shital, her son Naksh (10), and daughter Neeti (17) saw Shailesh dying before their eyes.

Flanked by a weeping Neeti, Shital accused the netas of finding an 'opportunity for a photo-op' during tragedies. "All politicians, officials, and security forces came only after the killing - for photo ops. No one was there when my husband needed help," she said, adding: "We thought Kashmir was the safest place, looking at the number of military present there... We were wrong."

She recounted how the terrorist who shot Shaileshstayed there until he died. She said the tourists were singled out on basis of faith before the massacre, adding: "What kind of govt is this, which cannot protect its own citizens?"