Responding to the provocative statements of both Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, enjoying patronage of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, over tinkering with Article 35A and abrogation of Article 370, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Chief Amit Shah on Wednesday set the record straight by saying it ‘loud and clear’ that as long as BJP is in power these leaders cannot fulfil their dreams of having a separate Prime Minister for the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Cornering Rahul Gandhi, BJP Chief also asked him to clarify his stand on the issue.
“Rahul Baba, do you also want two PMs in the country? People of the country want to know the Congress president’s response to Omar Abdullah’s statements. You should tell the nation whether you support him or not,” Shah said at an election rally in Sunderbani amid thunderous applause from the crowd.
Addressing two back to back rallies in support of party candidates from Udhampur-Doda and Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat, Amit Shah asserted that his party, whether in power or in opposition, would never let such a demand get fulfilled.
“I want to make it clear that the BJP, no matter whether it is in power or in the opposition, would not allow their desire of having two PMs in the country being fulfilled,” Shah said.
Describing the BJP as a party which follows the ideals of Syama Prasad Mookerjee who made the supreme sacrifice in Kashmir, Shah said it will not let anything of the sort happen “till its last breath”.
In Srinagar, PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti made yet another provocative statement saying that the relation of Jammu and Kashmir with India will end if the terms and conditions of the state’s accession to the Union were changed.
“2020 will also be a deadline from Jammu and Kashmir to the nation. If you remove those terms and conditions on which Jammu & Kashmir acceded to India, our relation with the country will also end,” Mehbooba told reporters after filing her nomination papers from the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency.
The former Chief Minister was responding to BJP president Amit Shah’s assertion that Article 35A, which guarantees special status to Jammu & Kashmir in terms of residency rights, will be repealed by 2020.
Posing some tough questions to the Congress party Chief in Sunderbani and Udhampur, Amit Shah said, “a leader of National Conference (NC) raised pro-Pakistan slogans but Mauni Baba, as Shah dubbed him, remained mum. “Rahul Gandhi, you are in alliance with the NC, you cannot escape from the responsibility to clear your stand. Citizens of the country want to know if you agree with raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans,” the BJP chief asked.
Addressing a rally in Udhampur, Shah said, “The Congress and its leaders should feel ashamed of what they have announced in their manifesto — to dilute AFSPA and withdraw sedition clause.”
“Nobody can dilute AFSPA as the BJP will be standing like a rock behind security forces who are protecting our borders,” Shah told the rally, organised in support of BJP leader Jitendra Singh.
In Sunderbani, BJP president alleged that illegal immigrants including Rohingyas want to change the demography of Jammu region and vowed to oust every single illegal immigrant from the country if voted again to power.
“Infiltrators are eating our country like termites. They want to change the demography of Jammu. As long as there is a BJP government, we won’t let this happen. If you choose Narendra Modi government, we will oust every single infiltrator from the country in the next five years,” he said. He also warned Pakistan, saying if a single bullet comes from there “we will fire shells from here”.
In reference to the Balakot air strike, BJP Chief Amit Shah said that the BJP government gave a “befitting reply” to the terrorists while claiming that the Congress could not do so in the last 10 years of their tenure.
“During the Modi government, air strikes were conducted where the terrorists sleeping at their training camps were killed. We gave a befitting reply to the terrorists. After this, there was a wave of happiness across the country. Victory processions were carried out everywhere but Rahul Gandhi and his party along with National Conference and PDP leaders became sad”, he added.