JAMMU: Some days ago, National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah declared that had it been in his power, he would have stopped Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru from being hanged. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh condemned Omar’s statement on September 8 and asked him: “What was the other treatment Guru should have been given in Delhi?” Singh was speaking at Ramban in the Jammu region in an election rally in support of the BJP candidate.
“Omar Abdullah says Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him, what else should have we done to him. Were we supposed to garland him for his deeds?” Singh said. Guru had been convicted for involvement in the attack on Parliament in 2001 and was hanged in 2013 after facing a legal trial.
Singh also asserted that time is not far when people of Pakistan Occupied Jammu Kashmir (POJK) would join India willingly. “Recently, the residents of POJK were branded as foreigners, but they are our own people. We believe they are part and parcel of India and deserve a dignified life ahead. Time is not far off when they would join us willingly without any pressure,” he said.
He criticised PDP president Mehbooba Mufti for once asserting that J&K would be on fire if Article 370 was touched. “Not a single bullet was fired and nobody protested. Nobody was killed. In fact, J&K witnessed everlasting peace post revocation of Article 370,” he said, adding that if his party comes to power, it can make J&K a model state within next 10 years.
Rajnath Singh said there were such steps outlined in NC manifesto that could lead to revival of terrorism and separatism. However, his party (the BJP) will never allow J&K to go back to what it was before August 2019. “Under the leadership of PM Narendera Modi, Rs 38,000 crore were invested in J&K. Today, youth are holding laptops and bats instead of stones and guns. Nobody can dare to carry a pistol in Srinagar and fire at people. This is the change we have brought in J&K,” he said.
The BJP was committed to bring back Kashmri Pandits who were forced to flee from their homes and hearths in 1990 under the shadow of gun and terror, he said. For the first time, J&K will have a BJP government after the coming assembly elections and the J&K will become a model state of India soon.
Meanwhile, J&K BJP chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi has said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) to reject/cancel the nomination of Omar Abdullah for threatening the people. Sethi was accompanied by BJP spokespersons Arun Gupta (media centre in charge), Girdhari Lal Raina and Balbir Ram Rattan.
“A former Sarpanch of Ganderbal, with consent from Omar Abdullah, has threatened that those who do not support the flag of NC would be killed,” Sethi said on Sunday. Sethi said the BJP will approach ECI to file complaint against Omar and demand cancellation of his nomination.
“Our legal experts are exploring various legal options and soon we will approach ECI demanding cancellation/rejection of Omar Abdullah’s nomination from Ganderbal,” Sethi said, adding, “There is no way that former Sarpanch could have threatened the people without Omar’s consent.”
Sethi said that Cong and NC, instead of talking about their manifestos, are misleading the people on other issues and have no roadmap for J&K. “It is very sad that Omar is questioning the decision of Supreme Court on hanging of Afzal Guru, who was involved in attack on Indian Parliament,” Sethi said.
This issue has been raised by Omar to divert the attention of the people, he said. “The BJP is the only party which is talking about forming government on its own in J&K,” he said. Omar has sensed it clearly that he will lose the coming assembly elections and that is why he is contesting from two seats and has started giving wayward and confusing statements.
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