SHAHJAHANPUR (UP), Aug 20: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today lashed out at Pakistan for the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, saying it was continuously trying to derail peace in the Valley.
“Today, I don’t feel hesitant in saying that Pakistan is continuously trying to create unrest in Kashmir. It wants to destroy it and derail peace in the Valley,” he said here while addressing a Tiranga rally.
“Recently, I went to Pakistan and you all know our neighbouring country’s misdeeds. I don’t want to repeat what happened over there but would like to say that I did not let India’s pride go down there. I said one country’s terrorist cannot be the hero of another,” he said.
“I want to tell the people of Kashmir that we not only love the land of Kashmir but also its people. I would like to appeal to the Kashmiris that we do not want to see stones, bricks and firearms in their hands but pen, computers and jobs. We want to see you employed,” Singh said.
He said that a violent protest cannot be a solution to a particular issue. There should be peace at first then issues can be resolved through talks.
“Some people are trying to create hatred among Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Parsis by following the divide and rule trick adopted by British rulers but they have been failed miserably. No one can divide the people of India,” Singh said.
He said if people want to make India a great nation, then all residents regardless of their community, race or religion will have to contribute and go ahead together.
“British rulers tried to divide communities on religious lines but their malicious attempts were thwarted by the friendship of freedom fighters Ashfaqullah Khan and Ramprasad Bismil,” he said.
“India’s Muslims know that India is the only country in the world where Islam’s all 72 sects are found. No other nation, not even Muslim countries have all the 72 sects of Islam. Christianity’s all sects are found only in India,” he said.
According to Singh, whenever China or Pakistan tried to show aggression at the borders in the past, “our people stood united and challenged them”.
Singh paid floral tributes to freedom fighters Khan, Bismil and Thakur Roshan Singh and visited their memorial in the city’s Ramprasad Bismil park in the presence of Shahjahanpur MP Krishna Raj and local BJP leaders along with hundreds of people.
He laid wreaths at the statues of the three freedom fighters who belonged to Shahjahanpur and laid their lives in India’s freedom struggle.
Singh lauded the contribution of the three and met the family of Khan. He greeted people of Shahjahanpur and said he is delighted to visit the city where these freedom fighters were born.
Meanwhile, at a function to unveil a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at Lucknow University, Rajnath insisted that the solution to all the problems of Kashmir and its people can be found only through mutual dialogue.
“These children are innocent and citizens of India…If there is a problem or difficulty, it cannot be solved through demonstrations, it can be resolved only through mutual dialogue,” he said.
Stressing that peace and normalcy should be restored in Kashmir by holding talks with “our own people”, Singh said that people of India love not just the land of Kashmir but also its people.
Making an appeal to the students in all the educational institutions of the country wherever Kashmiri youths are studying to consider them as their brothers and not to discriminate against them in any manner, Singh said they should be given proper respect and love.
Asking the Kashmiri brothers and sisters to give up violence and help in restoring normalcy, he said though they were politicians but they too get immensely hurt and disturbed whenever any youth is injured and dies just like when a jawan meets the same fate.
The Home Minister also reminded the people of Kashmir the service rendered by security personnel during the devastating floods by saving lives of hundreds of them by putting their own lives at risk.
India is one and will remain one no matter what the opponents tried, he said to the huge applause of the people.
Noting that the goal of politics is to take the society towards the noble path of prosperity and brotherhood, Singh rued that unfortunately today’s politics appears adamant on dividing people on caste and communal lines for the sake of power. (PTI)
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