DM takes dig at Omar for changing decision to contest polls
*People in PoJK distressed, want to join India
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 22: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said India is ready to embrace Pakistan and start a process of dialogue with it provided the neighbouring country gives a guarantee that it will stop promoting terrorism on Indian soil.
Click Here To Join Daily Excelsior on WhatsApp And Get Latest News
Singh accused the Congress, National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of working as “proxies of Pakistan” and said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not allow anyone to run the “impure agenda” of Islamabad in Jammu and Kashmir.
Click here to watch video
Addressing four poll rallies at Rajouri, Poonch and Jammu districts today, Singh said Hindu-Muslim unity is imperative for the country’s progress.
“They (NC and PDP) are advocating dialogue with Pakistan, a country that is aiding and abetting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorism and dialogue cannot go on together but if Pakistan gives a guarantee that it will stop promoting terrorism on Indian soil, we are ready to embrace it and start talks,” he said.
The Defence Minister said Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has consumed thousands of lives in Jammu and Kashmir, with 80 per cent of its victims being Muslims.
Referring to the reported remarks of Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif that his country and the NC-Congress alliance are on the same page on restoration of Article 370 of the Constitution, he said a poverty-ridden Pakistan is interfering in India’s internal affairs.
“The graceless and shameless statement of the Pakistani leader amounts to interference in our internal affairs. Pakistan has become an international brand of poverty and destitution. It is unable to handle its own affairs but is worried about India’s internal matters,” Singh said.
He said Pakistan has the habit of moving around with a begging bowl and is presently seeking an assistance of USD 7 billion, which is less than the package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Jammu and Kashmir, from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“The one doing business in snakes (terrorism) ends up harming himself,” he said.
“Be assured that terrorism will be wiped out from Jammu and Kashmir,” the Defence Minister said, adding that the Union Territory has suffered a lot due to terror activities for three decades and the BJP is ready to make a “new Jammu and Kashmir”, without allowing anyone to push it backwards.
Lashing out at the Congress, NC and PDP, Singh said any Indian is welcome to do politics based on the issues facing the country, instead of working as a “proxy of Pakistan”.
“These are the people who raised the same questions as those of Pakistan on the Pulwama terror attack and demanded proof of surgical strikes, airstrikes and (the) Galwan (clash in Ladakh). All these things clearly show that the NC, Congress and PDP are trying to run a Pakistani agenda, but I want to tell the people here as well those across the border that the impure Pakistani agenda will not be allowed to run in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s recent visit to the United States, the Rajnath accused the Congress leader of defaming India on foreign soil. “The Congress should be given a befitting reply in this election,” he added.
After the provisions of Article 370 were abrogated in August 2019, the Government got an opportunity to rebuild Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said, adding, “No power can restore it again.”
He questioned the poll manifestoes of the NC, Congress and PDP that talk about restoration of Statehood in Jammu and Kashmir and said, “The Prime Minister has already promised that statehood will be restored. These parties are misleading people on the issue.”
Singh accused the opposition of dividing the country in the name of religion and said, “We cannot achieve progress without unity among Hindus and Muslims. We can only make a country’s head high when we move together.”
The veteran leader asserted that no power can stop the BJP from forming its Government in Jammu and Kashmir after the conclusion of the ongoing Assembly polls in the Union Territory.
“Everyone in Jammu and Kashmir accepts that the Modi government has ensured the region’s development, something that no other government has done before. The situation has improved considerably, which is evident from the fact that polls are being held in a free and fair manner and people have reposed their faith in democracy by exercising their franchise in large numbers,” he said.
Singh said Pakistani refugees and members of the Valmiki Samaj are going to vote in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls for the first time in seven decades, which was made possible by the BJP-led government by ensuring justice with the deprived population, including the Scheduled Tribes (STs) who were provided reservation in the Assembly.
He said a network of roads is being laid by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to improve connectivity and there has not been a single incident of stone-pelting since 2022.
“Those who ruled earlier used Jammu and Kashmir as an ATM to take away money, but we provided 40,000 jobs to youngsters (in Government departments) and created 5.3 lakh jobs through self-employment,” the BJP leader said.
Rajnath lauded the people of Jammu and Kashmir for overwhelmingly taking part in the first phase of polling in the Assembly election on September 18.
“The first phase of the Assembly election registered more than 61 per cent polling, the highest in 30 years and surpassing the record-breaking 58 per cent polling in the Lok Sabha election. The message has gone to the world that Article 370 was abrogated for the betterment of India.
“People have raised the flag of democracy so high that Pakistan is feeling pain in its belly. We do not want enmity with Pakistan as we want good relations with all our neighbours. Pakistan keeps doing unholy things against India to divert the attention of its people from its internal problems,” Singh said.
The Defence Minister said people in Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) are distressed and want to join India.
“They are witnessing the change in Jammu and Kashmir and India’s progress under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. They are considering joining India for their prosperity and they no longer want to live with them (Pakistan),” he said, adding that India has never differentiated among people on the basis of religion and considered the PoJK residents as “our own”.
Referring to a statement of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee — “hum dost badal sakte hai, humsaaye nahi (we can change friends but not neighbours)” — Singh said if Pakistan treads the right path, India is willing to have good relations with all its neighbours. “We should not forget the words of Vajpayee,” he added.
“If the NC-Congress alliance comes to power, people will start losing their lives (to terrorism). Article 370 was the reason why Jammu and Kashmir lagged behind,” he said.
The veteran leader said if the BJP comes to power here, it will ensure that Jammu and Kashmir is the most developed region in the country in 10 years.
He said the revocation of Article 370 led to the implementation of the Constitution in letter and spirit in Jammu and Kashmir. “That time has gone when there was no tricolour at Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of Srinagar. Does anyone have the power now to stop someone from hoisting the national flag there?” he asked the gathering.
Singh also accused the NC, Congress and PDP of dividing people on the basis of religion and said “everyone born on Indian soil, belonging to any faith, is an Indian citizen”.
He said the BJP is the only political party that can restore the pride of Jammu and Kashmir.
“After independence, Jammu and Kashmir, which was known as paradise on earth, got lost in the whirlwind of the past. We have to pull it out from this whirlwind and take it forward, unlike the past rulers who kept it backward and indulged in divisive politics,” he said.
“You have witnessed the drop in terror activities. Jammu and Kashmir is now known as the country’s tourism capital than being infamous for terrorism,” Singh said, lauding the culture of Kashmir where people from all religions used to celebrate their festivals together.
He accused local politicians of destroying the region and said, “Modi’s politics will not allow them to ruin Jammu and Kashmir anymore. Modi has a special place for Jammu and Kashmir in his heart.”
Referring to Vajpayee’s words — “Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat” — Singh said this is the focus of the BJP, while political dynasts only want to grab power.
He said Modi has provided justice to the deprived sections of the society with the abrogation of Article 370 and the country is marching ahead to become the third-largest economy by 2027 and a developed nation by 2047.
Asserting that the crisis of credibility is the biggest challenge facing Indian politics, Rajnath said National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah should have sought an apology from people for changing his mind to contest the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Crisis of credibility is the biggest challenge in Indian politics. I was hurt when I came out of the airport on seeing a poster and thought about what had happened to Indian politics. The poster carried the picture of a young NC leader who had said I will not fight the elections till restoration of Statehood and is now fighting the elections from two seats,” said Singh.
“He may not have any problem but I am hurt because at least he should have sought an apology from the people,” the Defence Minister said.
He said it is not the question of Omar, Rajnath or any other leader, but it is the question of credibility in Indian politics.
“This is the biggest challenge of the time, but the BJP is the only party in the country which has taken the crisis of credibility as a challenge and we have conquered it as well,” added Singh.
The Defence Minister said he has been in politics for over three decades, holding important positions in the BJP, including two time national president, member parliament, MLA and minister in different Governments.
“Biggest asset of a person is his credibility. What is said should be done and there should be no difference in words and deeds. When I fought the elections, I was 26 years old and felt ashamed for not fulfilling all my promises. I took a pledge at that time that I will never make any assurance but will try to meet all the aspirations of the people,” he said.
Singh said the BJP is doing the same thing.
“Pick up our manifesto since 1951 and what we have said was done. We have promised to revoke Article 370 on getting a majority and we did it in a pinch in August 2019,” Singh said.
“I respect (NC president) Farooq Abdullah, who is an elderly person…Politics should not have been done just for the formation of a Government, it should be done for nation and society building,” he added referring to the NC’s poll promise of restoration of Article 370 and Statehood.
Rajnath said the BJP-led Government is going to table a bill on ‘One Nation, One Election’ in Parliament and will try to build a consensus as holding the Lok Sabha and assembly elections together across the country will help save three lakh crores.
Singh said the plan behind ‘one nation, one election’ is to reduce expenses and rightful use of administrative resources among others.
“We are bringing the bill to hold the assembly and Lok Sabha elections together and efforts are on to bring all the parties on board. It has many benefits like rightful use of administrative machinery, financial and fiscal resources, one election calendar, proper use of human resources and increasing the voter turnout,” he said.
The Defence Minister said if both elections take place together in the country, an amount of Rs three lakh crore could be saved.
Singh said the country is moving forward and becoming independent with focus on the manufacture of bombs, tanks and missiles locally.
Taking a dig at the Congress, he said the opposition leadership is spreading falsehoods and that too on the foreign soil.
“Rahul Gandhi was in America recently and talked about Sikhs and their religion. He spread false things even (Pakistan’s) ISI could not do such things,” Singh said, adding the Sikh community’s contribution to safeguard Indian culture cannot be forgotten.
The Defence Minister said the BJP will always stand with the Sikhs of the country, while the Congress has not only divided the community but also indulged in their “genocide” and allowed terrorism to grow in Punjab and Kashmir.
“I want to tell the Congress not to spread falsehood so much that you cannot face the truth in future,” he said.
The senior BJP leader referred to various measures taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government for the welfare of the Sikhs, including opening of the Kartarpur corridor in Punjab, and said justice was served to the victims of the anti-Sikh riots.
“Congress is in deep trouble because its divisive politics has been fully exposed,” he said.
Asking the gathering to work with dedication for the country, Singh said, “We are born from its womb and we will live and die for it.”
Follow our WhatsApp channel
