Further sharpening the BJP’s narrative for Maharashtra Assembly polls on nationalism, BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday praised the “man with 56-inch chest” in Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nullifying Article 370 and integrating Jammu & Kashmir with the mainstream.
Addressing an election rally in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, he said the previous Governments never had the courage shown by Modi.
He appealed to people to ask Congress and NCP leaders, when they come to seek votes, whether they support the NDA Government’s decision to abrogate the provisions that gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir.
He targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar for questioning the Government’s move to abrogate Article 370.
“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 & Kashmir with the country’s mainstream,” Shah said.
Shah said since the days of Jan Sangh, they have been hearing that there cannot be two prime ministers, there cannot be two symbols and two constitutions, but “it was the Congress which, by imposing Article 370, stopped the process of integrating Jammu & Kashmir with India for several years”.
“As a result, thousands of our people lost their lives due to terrorism, but still there was no intention of any party to remove Article 370,” he said.
“Several Governments came and went, several prime ministers came and went, no one had the courage to abrogate Article 370. But, the man with the 56-inch chest scrapped it in one go,” Shah said.
He said during the UPA rule, terrorists from Pakistan used to infiltrate and kill Indian soldiers.
“They used to decapitate our soldiers, but the then Prime Minister ‘Mouni baba’ Manmohan Singh never used to utter a single word. But after the Uri and Pulwama attacks, Modiji showed the courage of killing terrorists in their den through surgical strike and air strikes,” he said.
He further hit out at the opposition over the Government’s decision to ban the practice of triple talaq.
