Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 5: The union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday tore into the regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir who wanted the centre to “talk to Pakistan” and the government would rather talk to the people of Kashmir and not give any credence to the pro-Pakistan local parties.
“Some people say we should talk to Pakistan. Why should we talk to Pakistan? We will not talk. We would rather talk to Gujjars, Paharis and the youth of Kashmir,” Mr Shah said. He also assured the people in the union territory that the elections would be held in the valley at the earliest as soon as the revision of the electoral rolls were completed.
The revision of electoral rolls, which started in August, is due to be over by November 25. There was speculation that the election — the first since 2014 — will be held next year after the winter thaw.
Addressing a largely-attended rally in Baramulla in Kashmir valley, Shah, who completed his three-day visit to J&K, attacked the “Gupkar” alliance largely made of three families of “Abdullahs,” “Muftis” and “Gandhis” who ruled the state for the last 70 years and kept the region backward and claimed that the Narendra Modi government in the last three years had contribute to the region’s development much more than the “governments of the three families” in seven decades.
This was Mr Shah’s first public rally in Kashmir Valley after the revocation of its special status granted under the constitution and the division of the state into two Union Territories. As thousands were brought to the rally in Baramulla in buses, Amit Shah remarked that he was told no one will attend his rally. “I was told who will come to listen to you in Baramulla. I’m asking camera persons please turn your cameras and see thousands of people from this beautiful valley have come here” said Mr Shah.
At Baramulla multi-tier security arrangements were made for the rally with traffic to the town restricted from Sangrama, about 10 kms away. The rally was attended by over 10,000 people, most of whom were from the border areas of Tangdhar, Uri and Bandipore. Some of them were government employees, who accused their senior officials of “forcing” them to attend it. Midway through his speech, when Azaan sounded from a nearby mosque, the home minister halted his speech in a gesture of respect. Questioning how many villages in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have electricity connection, he said, “We have ensured, in the last three years that all villages in Kashmir have electricity connection.” He said the regional leaders should see the level of development in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). “There is no electricity, no water and no hospitals. In Kashmir, every village is electrified. Kashmir was a hotspot of terrorism and now a hotspot of tourism. From mere six lakh tourist visiting a year, Kashmir till October has witnessed 22 lakh tourists,” he added. He urged people of Kashmir to join the mainstream. “We want a holistic development in Jammu & Kashmir. People should join the mainstream and the development process and move forward,” he added.
The home minister repeatedly targeted Gupkar Alliance – the conglomeration of the key political parties in the Kashmir Valley.
He also blamed Farooq Abdullah (leader of National Conference), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP leader) and the Nehru-Gandhis blaming them for the underdevelopment of Jammu and Kashmir. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah hit back and reminded Mr Shah that Jammu and Kashmir was under direct central rule when Pulwama attack took place.
The Home Minister said the Narendra Modi government does not tolerate terrorism and wants to wipe it out. “We want to make Jammu and Kashmir the most peaceful place in the country,” he said. The Minister said it pains his heart if anyone gets killed. “The biggest burden on a father’s shoulders is the coffin of his son. Around 42,000 ordinary people have died in Kashmir due to terrorism. None was a son of a politician. Who is responsible for 42,000 deaths? The Muftis and Abdullah. Terrorism will yield nothing,” Mr. Shah said.
In contrast, the Modi model for Kashmir was peace, development and harmony, Mr Shah said. “The Gupkar model gave us the Pulwama attack and the Modi model set up a hospital worth ₹2,000 crore in Pulwama. The Gupkar model is for stones in hands, closed colleges and machine guns in youth’s hands. The Modi model is implementing ₹56,000 investments on the ground,” Mr. Shah said. He named the Abdullahs and the Muftis and blamed them for youth having stones and guns in their hands. “PM Modi replaced them with mobiles and laptops by setting up industry and providing employment,” Mr. Shah said.
