Political rivals BJP and Congress entered in a bitter war of words over certain controversial remarks by senior Congress leaders Saifuddin Soz and Ghulam Nabi Azad about Jammu & Kashmir.
launching a blistering attack against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the BJP said a “New Congress” is in sync with terrorists across the country as it quoted Gulam Nabi saying that Army has killed more civilians than the terrorists in J&K. The BJP also attacked former Union Minister Soz, who said Kashmiris want independence.
While the Congress defended Azad’s statement by saying it was in support of the common people of the State and should not be viewed as something which is “anti-national”, the party condemned and disowned Soz, saying what he said was “cheap gimmick” to sell his forthcoming book.
Addressing a Press conference here, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said Azad’s comments were approved by terrorist outfit leT’s spokesperson Dr Abdullah, who said, “We have been of the same opinion as that of Azad”.
Describing Azad’s comments as “shameful and irresponsible”, Prasad said the Congress’ pathological hatred of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP has become a “corner stone” of its politics in which national interest at times takes a back seat. The BJP leader said that Pakistan will use Azad’s remarks to push its agenda of human rights violations against India.
Prasad said latching on Azad’s statement the leT has started blaming Indian forces for the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari. The BJP will raise the issue in Parliament when its Monsoon Session begins next month, he said.
lashing out at Rahul, Prasad alleged the Congress under him has “designed” its politics in sync with terrorists.
“But what do we expect from the Congress whose president visits JNU in support of ‘tukre gang’, questions the Army’s surgical strike in POK, makes barbs like ‘khoon ki dalali’ aimed at the Government, and its another leader bad mouths Army chief,” he said.
The Congress’ commitment to the country has undergone a sea change since Rahul took charge, said Prasad, who is also Union law Minister.
Prasad claimed a new Congress has emerged and under Rahul and with the blessings of Sonia, it wants to strengthen the forces working to break India.
The BJP leader decried Azad’s another comment allegedly describing Army chief and Defence Minister’s visit to the late Armyman Aurangzeb’s house in Kashmir as a “drama”. Stating that it was another irresponsible comment from Azad, he sought Rahul and Sonia to respond on this.
Referring to Soz’s statement, Prasad said though the Congress has disassociated itself from his comment “it is not enough as it is his considered opinion”.
Azad’s comments that the Army was killing more civilians than terrorists seek to “break the morale of the forces, bring them into disrepute and seriously impinge on the country’s security”, he said.
On the other hand, the Congress cited statements of former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha made in Srinagar and by BJP veteran lK Advani on Mohammed Ali Jinnah to hit out at the BJP.
“We have also seen in the past how BJP’s then Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh made a public statement saying that they would have perhaps told security forces to not take action if BJP-PDP Government knew that Burhan Wani, dreaded terrorist, was inside,” Congress chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said.
Surjewala also took a dig at Modi and Amit Shah, saying while the Prime Minister invited the ISI which is responsible for terrorist attacks to investigate the Pathankot airbase attack by terrorists, the BJP chief expressed confidence in the ISI.
The Congress leader cited the remark made by former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in the presence of Modi, during his swearing-in thanking separatists and Pakistan and not the security forces and Election Commission, for formation of the Government in J&K.
“We also saw as to how PDP-BJP Government made Asifa Andrabi -- the poster girl for ‘Beti Bacho Beti Padhao’ in J&K -- while she also went to Pakistan and addressed public rallies with terrorists,” Surjewala said.
“So let us not try to divert agenda based on a stray statement made by some individual which we reject in toto,” the Congress leader said.
Surjewala rejected Soz’s contention and said that J&K is an integral part of India and will continue to be so and that is an incontrovertible and unquestionable truth.
“The Congress party and every rightful citizen of India reject such content as a gimmick to sell a book that is yet to come into the market. There is incontrovertible unquestionable truth and that is J&K was an integral part of India, is an integral part of India, and will always remain an integral part of India,” Surjewala said to the reporters.
The Congress leader said many people will make many statements “either to sell book or to gain cheap publicity through friends of the media”.
In his book, Soz has said that “independence” is the first choice of Kashmiris as he supported former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s assessment in this regard. “Musharraf had explained that if Kashmiris were given a chance to exercise their free will, they would prefer to be independent. In fact, this assessment of Musharraf seems to be correct even today,” he has written in the book.