Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Mar 23: Union Minister and BJP candidate for Udhampur – Doda constituency, Dr Jitendra Singh today accused the Congress and National Conference (NC) of causing maximum damage to secularism.
In an informal chat with newsmen here today, the Union Minister ridiculed the statement of NC president and former Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah who yesterday said that tie up with Congress was made to save nation and protect secular fabric.
Dr Jitendra Singh, while commenting on the statement said the two parties have done maximum damage to secularism in the country during their 55 year rule in the State and at Centre. “In the garb of secularism, the two parties and their leaders divided society on communal lines and communities on caste lines”, he alleged.
Dr Jitendra Singh, while making a scathing attack on the two alliance partners said that for their political opportunism they were instigating one caste against other and one community against another. This practice started way back and at one point of time the Congress was having alliance with Muslim League in Kerala and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
Turning tables on Congress for what he called its double standards, the Union Minister said that these were the Congress leaders including Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler whose cases are still pending in court in 1984 anti Sikh riots in Delhi which took place after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. “When the former PM, Rajiv Gandhi was asked to explain this, he had said when a major tree falls there can be an earthquake”.
Dr Jitendra Singh, while questioning the alliance of claiming to protect secular fabric and values asked what service they can render to secularism when Congress party swept the Assembly elections in Jammu by playing communal card in the year 1983 in the aftermath of ‘Blue Star Operation’. Its alliance partner NC swept the Assembly elections in Kashmir by joining hands with pro-Pak Awami Action Committee of Moulvi Farooq. This speaks volumes about the dubious character of the two parties, he added.
He said there are umpteen instances disservice to secularism by the two parties right from 1947 after the country got independence. He said in 1989 Congress -NC alliance was responsible for Kashmiri Hindus exodus and its motive was the total ethinic cleansing in the Valley.
In recent years Congress and other Kashmir parties have indulged in selective condemnation of violence in the aftermath of Pulwama terrorist attack in which 44 valiant CRPF personnel attained martyrdom while they never condemned the Jaish-e-Mehmood a dreaded terrorist organization or other terrorist groups responsible for killing of innocent people or security forces personnel”, he added.
“I ask Congress and Kashmir parties what message they want to convey to nation by such attitude. Do they want to glorify terror this way”? he questioned.
Dr Jitendra Singh, while justifying the policies and programmes of Narendra Modi Government said it goes to credit of Modi that he brought justice to millions of Muslim women by brining Triple Talaq Bill. He said that even the two parties discriminated with the daughters of the J&K married outside and under the law the daughters of the State don’t get inheritance certificate once they marry outside. “Even Dr Farooq Abdullah’s daughter does not own inheritance law as she has married to Congress leader Sachin Pilot”, he added.
The Union Minister accused the two parties of dividing communities and creating caste based prejudices for the vote bank politics. Each and every development scheme brought by Narendra Modi reached poorest of the poor irrespective of caste, creed and religion in the entire country. He said under Ujwala Yojna gas connections were given to every house hold which falls in the category of poor without consideration to which religion the family belongs.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that three percent reservation was given to the people residing on Line of Control (LoC) and those living on International Border (IB) were ignored for decades together. “This discrimination was also undone by Narendra Modi Government and will Congress and NC explain that why this discrimination was made when the problems of the people residing on LoC and IB were same”? he asked.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
