NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Congress party of repeatedly “risking the country's unity and security” in its greed for power. The comments came after Congress forged an alliance with the JKNC for the assembly polls.
“The Congress Party, which has repeatedly risked the nation’s unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family’s National Conference in the Jammu and Kashmir elections,” Shah said reacting to Congress and JKNC pre-poll alliance.
Raising ten questions on the alliance of Congress with NC, Shah further asked Congress to reply whether it wants to support the NC’s promise of a separate flag for J&K or not.
“Does Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party support the JKNC’s decision to restore Article 370 and 35 A, and thereby push Jammu and Kashmir back into unrest and terrorism? Does the Congress support promoting separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmir’s youth? Does the Congress support reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone pelting into government jobs, thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism, and the era of strikes?”, Shah asked the Congress to answer before the nation.
Continuing his tirade against Congress, Shah further alleged that the alliance had exposed the Congress party’s anti-reservation stance.
“Does Congress support the JKNC’s promise to end reservation for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals, and Pahadi communities, thereby inflicting injustice upon them?” Shah asked, adding that the Congress wants ‘Shankaracharya Hill’ named as ‘Takht-e-Suleiman’ and Hari Hill as ‘Koh-e-Maran’.
The last question point Shah asked the Congress was on the support of Congress to JKNC’s divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir. “Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC’s divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir?” he asked. Making a front attack on Congress.
Shah, who is considered as principal strategist of the BJP, further said that the Modi government ended years of discrimination against Dalits, tribes, Pahadis, and backward communities by granting them reservations after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A, however, the Congress and his ally JKNC want to end all these.
Slamming the Congress Shah asked again “Does Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC manifesto, which calls for abolishing reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals and Pahadis? After allying with the National Conference, he should now clarify the Congress Party's stand on reservation policy.”
It is to be noted that the restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir's
statehood as well as the implementation of the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile assembly in 2000 are among the National Conference's 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming assembly polls.
After the abrogation of Article 370 and 35 A, the 90-member assembly of the Union Territory is going to the polls in three phases on September 18 and 25 and October 1.