Jammu: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that no power can talk about autonomy in Jammu and Kashmir as he hit out at the Congress and National Conference for asserting that INDIA bloc will ensure restoration of statehood to the Union Territory. Shah came down heavily upon Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah for promising people of the UT that they will give Jammu and Kashmir state status again.
Addressing BJP’s ‘Vijay Sankalp’ booth workers meeting in Jammu, Shah said, “No power can talk about autonomy (in Jammu and Kashmir). Rahul baba (Gandhi), National Conference are saying they will give Jammu and Kashmir state status again. I want to ask Abdullah sahab and Rahul baba, how can you give it back, tell me? Why are you making fool of people of Jammu and Kashmir?”
Shah further said that he himself has said that the Narendra Modi government will give back state status to Jammu and Kashmir after elections and at an appropriate time. “I didn’t say this in any public gathering but in Parliament,” Shah added. Jammu and Kashmir is set to hold Assembly election in three phases on – September 18, 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will be held on October 4. Assembly polls in the Union territory is being held after a gap of 10 years and also for the first time since the erstwhile state’s special status under Article 370 was revoked and it was bifurcated into two Union territories in August 2019.
Shah said that the upcoming polls in the Union Territory will be a “historic election” as for the first time since Independence, the voters of Jammu and Kashmir will cast their vote under the one tricolour and not under two flags.
“For the first time, voting will be held under the Constitution written by Babasaheb Ambedkar. There can’t be two PMs in the country, there can only be one PM whom people of Kashmir to Kanyakumari elect and that is PM Modi,” he added.
Shah reached Jammu on Friday on a two-day visit to launch the BJP’s campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections. He released the BJP’s election manifesto yesterday. The manifesto featured 25 guarantees, including creation of five lakh jobs, restoration of 100 “ruined temples” in Kashmir and return and rehabilitation of the Kashmiri Pandits.
