Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-AP) spokesperson Rupali Patil-Thombare, who was stranded in Kashmir as part of a 12-member group following the Pahalgam terror attack, returned to Pune. Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sushma Andhare welcomed Thombare at Pune airport and broke down and hugged her.
Andhare welcomed Thombare with flowers, sweets, and an Aarti Thali at the airport.
While some people felt the welcome was heartfelt, others tagged it as tone-deaf, especially as Pune saw two deaths in the Pahalgam terror attack.
The video of the welcome has gone viral on the internet.
Thombre posted videos from Kashmir
For the uninitiated, Thombare was giving updates from Kashmir and was one of the people who had appealed to the Maharashtra government to bring the tourists from the state back to Pune, as they were in a panic situation.
The NCP spokesperson said she had reached out to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Pune MP Murlidhar Mohol for help. She had even posted a video of a call she received from Dy CM Ajit Pawar, where he was discussing the situation with her.
Later, she posted a video of a cab driver named Adil, who rescued a tourist couple from Nashik, fed them at his house, and offered his home for their stay after the attack. Adil broke down on camera, where the tourists were seen consoling him.
Meanwhile, the mortal remains of Santosh Jagdale and Kaustubh Ganbote, who were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, were brought to Pune early Thursday morning.
Clad in her bloodstained clothes as a grim reminder of the Pahalgam tragedy, the daughter of Pune resident Santosh Jagdale, killed in the terror attack, led his funeral procession on Thursday as thousands joined her and chanted anti-Pakistan slogans.
