NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister and BJP's principal strategist Amit Shah reaffirmed India's claim over Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Wednesday. Speaking at a "Rising Bharat" summit organised by a media house, Shah asserted, "PoK Hamara hai" (PoK is ours), emphasising that India has a valid legal claim over the region.
When asked about a timeline for the annexation of PoK, Shah declined to provide a public deadline but diplomatically stated, "But PoK is of India, and every government should work on it," adding that India has a strong claim on PoK.
In response to allegations from Pakistan that India fuels violence in Balochistan, Shah categorically stated that Pakistan has failed to manage Balochistan's issues. "India doesn't interfere in it as it is their (Pakistan's) internal problem," he remarked when questioned about India's position on Balochistan's demand for an independent state.
Shah also spoke on the extradition of David Headley, saying that anyone who has abused or misused Indian soil would be brought to justice through extradition. Referring to the extradition of Tahawwur Rana as a significant achievement, he said, "Those who have also abused the land of India and the people of India, it is the responsibility of the Government of India to bring them all under the law of the country. Tahawwur Rana's return is a huge success of the Modi government's diplomacy because the governments whose bomb blasts, they could not bring it back."
Shah took a frontal jab at Congress over the partition of India post-independence, supporting PM Modi's statement made at the same summit the previous day. He said that while common Muslims were against the partition, the leaders of one party (referring to Congress) accepted the division. Although Shah did not directly name Jawaharlal Nehru, he suggested that those making decisions at the time were responsible for the partition, with Nehru becoming the PM.
Shah launched a broadside against the politics of appeasement, urging the youth of the country not to tolerate it in the larger interest of the nation. "Throw out those parties which resort to appeasement in politics, because this is such a poisonous canker that should be uprooted and thrown away from the country forever," he asserted.
Responding to questions on the Waqf Amendment Bill, now a law, Shah said that justice for all has been ensured in the Waqf system. He accused the Opposition, including Congress, of misleading the minority communities regarding the Waqf Amendment Bill and highlighted that while 18 lakh Waqf properties were declared from Independence to 2013, an additional 21 lakh acres of land had been added since the 2013 law. "But after the 2013 law, 21 lakh acres of land was added to Waqf. This tells that in 2013 such a system was made which was not just," he said.
Regarding West Bengal, Shah urged the people to elect a BJP government in the upcoming state elections to address the issue of illegal migration. He also took a swipe at West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, saying, "Mamata ji often raises allegations questioning how the BSF allows infiltration and what the Indian government is doing about it.
However, the reality is that despite fencing efforts along the border, there are significant challenges." Shah explained that approximately 250 kilometres of the border cannot be fenced due to geographical constraints, and the government of Bangladesh has not granted access to the land needed for fencing an additional 400 kilometres. "This leaves around 600 kilometres of open border, making it exceedingly difficult to completely prevent infiltration," he said.
On Tamil Nadu, Shah noted the widespread corruption in the state and how it had led to growing discontent among the people. He also reassured that no injustice would be done through delimitation, saying, "We promise that your proportional representation in terms of seats will remain unchanged," in response to a question on the matter.
Shah launched a blistering attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him and his party of falsely claiming that the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would result in people losing their citizenship.
"However, two years after the CAA came into effect, not a single Muslim has lost their citizenship. I challenge him to name who has lost his or her citizenship?" Shah said. He alleged that the Congress Party, along with the INDI Alliance, misled the nation with these baseless allegations and bore responsibility for the unrest and violence that followed. "So again today, I want to tell the youth of the country especially to bear anything else, but not appeasement," he concluded.