CHANDIGARH: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday warned Pakistan to stop its rant on Kashmir and instead focus on fighting terrorism sincerely. Addressing rallies in Karnal and Pataudi in poll-bound Haryana, Rajnath also hit out at the Congress for criticising him for doing ‘Shastra puja’ of the Rafale jets in France.
Referring to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s comment saying he would continue to raise the Kashmir issue on international forums, the defence minister said, “Don’t even think about Kashmir. You have paid the price. In 1947, you divided India into two… In 1971, Pakistan got divided into two,” he said. If Pakistan did not mend its ways, no power in this world can stop it from disintegrating, he went on to warn.
Rajnath said if Islamabad was finding it difficult to tackle the demon of terrorism, India was ready to help it but added that Pakistan’s intentions were deceitful.
Referring to India getting the Rafale jets from France, rajnath said if India had the jets earlier, it would not have had to enter Pakistan’s territory for the Balakot airstrikes. “Now, we don’t have to enter their territory to wipe out terrorists, now sitting in India only we can do ‘Jai Shri Ram’.”
The minister also lashed out at the Opposition for criticisng him for performing the ‘shastra puja’ on Rafale aircraft on Dussehra.
“I wrote ‘Om’ on it, broke a coconut, tied a ‘raksha bandhan’ around the plane. But Congress raked up a controversy... Isn’t ‘Om’ written in your homes? Don’t the Sikh brothers sitting here chant ‘Ek Onkar’? Don’t Christians say ‘Amen’, don’t our Muslim brothers say ‘Amen’...?”
Shah praises PM for J&K’s integration
Showering praise on PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said at an election rally in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district on Sunday that the previous governments never had the courage that was shown by the “man with 56-inch chest”. “After people of the country and Maharashtra voted him for the second term, Modiji did something for which the entire country was waiting for 70 years...he abrogated Article 370 on August 5 and joined Jammu and Kashmir with the country’s mainstream,” Shah said.
‘Lynching a reality Dalits have to suffer’
“Though I agree with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s opinion that ‘lynching’ is not an Indian word, the fact is that lynching and hate crimes is a reality and Dalits and Muslims bear the brunt of the politics out if it,” said Union minister for social justice and Republican Party of India (A) chief Ramdas Athawale. He also opined that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray would make a better chief minister than his son Aaditya whom the party has been projecting as the future Chief Minister of Maharashtra.