Shah’s 10-point attack on Cong, Rahul
*People aware of anti-national conspiracies of 2 parties
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Aug 23: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today launched a blistering attack on the Congress posing 10 sharp questions to the party and its leader Rahul Gandhi, who is also the Leader of Opposition (LOP) for the party’s alliance with National Conference in Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir describing the tie-up as “unholy, mismatched, and power-hungry”.
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In an official statement issued tonight and earlier taking to X, Shah charged the Congress with repeatedly “risking the nation’s unity and security to satiate its greed for power” saying the party has once again exposed its “ulterior motives” by allying with the Abdullah family’s National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir elections.
“In alliance with Congress, the National Conference has made several promises in their manifesto that are not only ‘anti-national’ but also a direct attack on the unity and integrity of the country. The people of India are well aware of the ‘unholy intentions and anti-national conspiracies’ of Congress and the National Conference, and they will never allow such plans to succeed,” the Home Minister said.
Congress and National Conference senior leaders yesterday announced that the two parties have reached an alliance for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. The announcement was made after a meeting between Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge joined by Rahul Gandhi and NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah and vice president Omar Abdullah.
Shah posed 10 pointed questions to the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi regarding the promises made in the National Conference’s manifesto. In one of the questions, he asked: “Does the Congress support the National Conference’s promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir? On page 27 of the National Conference’s manifesto, it is mentioned that if their Government is formed in Jammu & Kashmir, the separate flag will be resorted,” he said.
“Do Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party support the NC’s decision to restore Article 370 and Article 35A, and thereby push Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism? On page 10 of the NC’s manifesto, this intention is mentioned, and it is further reiterated on page 27,” Shah pointed out.
Asserting that the National Conference has promised to restore Articles 370 and 35A, overturning the decision of Parliament, as stated in their manifesto, he said despite this declaration, the Congress has chosen to form an alliance with the NC.
Shah, it may be mentioned, had introduced a bill in the Parliament on August 5, 2019 for revocation of Articles 370 and 35A and bifurcation of erstwhile State of J&K into two Union Territories of JK and Ladakh.
“Does the Congress support promoting separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmir’s youth? Page 10 of the NC’s manifesto also includes this promise. It’s widely known that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and separatism have long kept Jammu & Kashmir in turmoil, yet Congress appears to be backing a return to that dark era of terror and division in the region,” the Home Minister said.
In another question, Shah asked: “Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the NC’s decision to start ‘LoC Trade’ with Pakistan, thereby nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border? The National Conference has mentioned this on page 23 of their manifesto,” he noted.
“Does Congress support reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone-pelting into Government jobs, thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism, and the era of strikes? The NC mentions this on page 11 of their manifesto, which directly promotes separatism in J&K,” the Home Minister said and noted that after the removal of Articles 370 and 35A, national laws were enforced in Jammu & Kashmir, providing Constitutional rights to Dalits, Backwards, Gujjars, Bakerwals, and Paharis which has led to improvement in their standard of living.
“The alliance has exposed the Congress party’s anti-reservation stance. Does Congress support the NC’s promise to end reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakerwals, and Pahari communities, thereby inflicting injustice upon them? The NC has expressed this intention on page 22 of their manifesto,” he said.
Shah asked: “Does the Congress want ‘Shankaracharya Hill’ to be known as ‘Takht-e-Suleiman’ and ‘Hari Hill’ as ‘Koh-e-Maran’? If we look at the manifesto of the National Conference, this is the impression we get, as the NC has clearly stated this on page 21 of its manifesto”.
It is well-known that the corruption in the Governments of Congress, National Conference, and PDP has devastated Jammu and Kashmir. Shah said and asked the eighth question to the Congress: “Does the Congress support the politics of pushing Jammu and Kashmir’s economy back into corruption and handing it over to selected Pakistan-supported families? This appears to be the intention of the NC.
Congress, NC and PDP have consistently discriminated between Jammu and the Valley and have incited the people of Kashmir, he said. However, the people of Jammu and the Valley have always thwarted their harmful plans.
In another question, Shah asked: “Does the Congress party support the NC’s politics of discrimination between Jammu and the Valley”?
In the final and tenth question, the Union Home Minister asked: “Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the NC’s divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir”?
He stated that Congress should answer all these 10 questions.