NEW DELHI: Terming it “political opportunism”, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday hit out at former Finance Minister P Chidambaram for his remarks on Kashmir. The minister accused the Opposition party of speaking in divergent voices when it comes to country’s strategic matters.
Chidambaram had said in a statement that the Congress, NC and, if willing, the PDP should come together to find a solution to stop the violence and a path forward that would bring hope, peace and prosperity to the people of J&K. Naidu termed the statement as a game to unsettle a elected government.
“The Congress wants to unsettle a democratically-elected government. What do you mean when you say Congress, NCP and PDP come together? There is a democratically elected government in the State, you are suggesting to unsettle it in order to get some political benefit,” Naidu said. He claimed that the Congress was “consistently inconsistent” with regard to Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir.
When PM Narendra Modi echoed the sentiments of the people, even then the Congress tried to find faults with it, he said.
“What is surprising and shocking is why Congress leaders are aiding and abetting Pakistan, which is aiding, abetting and funding terrorism,” Naidu said.
He said while the Congress has sought to distance itself from recent statements of Chidmabaram and other leaders Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid, they have been its think tank for several years.
Naidu said it appears that the Congress is at odds with its “lawyers brigade”, on which its relied heavily when it was in power.
He also hit out at former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, saying he seemed to be speaking in frustration forgetting what had happened when he was in power when more than a hundred people were killed.