Ahead of second phase polls on September 25, Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a blistering attack at three “dynastic families” of Abdullahs, Muftis and Gandhis, accusing them of arming youth of Jammu and Kashmir with “machine guns and stones”. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said, had replaced them with “books and laptops”. Recalling how Pakistan’s firing and shelling had let loose a reign of terror for the border population along the LoC in the 1990s during a public address, he said, “The previous governments were afraid of Pakistan but today, Pakistan is afraid of Narendra Modi.
Does firing take place now? No, because Pakistan doesn’t have the guts to open fire and if they do then every single “goli” (bullet) will be responded by ‘golay (bombs)’.” Addressing five back-to-back rallies at Mendhar, Surankote, Thannamandi, Rajouri and Akhnoor, Shah said Jammu and Kashmir witnessed unprecedented transformation under PM Modi’s leadership. Shah again targeted three dynastic families of Abdullahs of the National Conference, Muftis of the Peoples Democratic Party and Gandhis of the Congress, accusing them of sabotaging democracy in the region.
“These three dynastic families held the democracy hostage. However, in 2014, Modi government paved the way for grassroots democracy, ensuring elections at Panchayat, block, and district levels, which in turn created a new leadership of 30,000 youth,” he said During his speeches in Rajouri and Poonch districts, Shah tried to strike an emotional chord with the Pahari community, which had been given 10 percent reservation by the BJP led government in March this year. At Surankote, he said, “Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Buhakri (party candidate) always pleaded for the cause of the Pahari community.
I still remember when he visited my house on December 16, 2019. I had promised him that they will get reservation in your lifetime.” “The PM has given them their right of reservation.
Now, educated youth of the community won’t have to work as waiters. They would now become dy SPs and collectors across the country,” he said. Shah also promised that if elected to power, the BJP would ensure reservation in promotion of the community candidates.
“BJP has decided that Paharis, Gujjars and Bakarwals will not only get reservation in jobs but also be given reservation in promotion in jobs, so that they can rise to the posts of chief secretary and DGP,” he added. Shah again raked up the NC manifesto and said, “While Congress, NC, and PDP kept these communities deprived of their rights for decades, NC says they will reconsider the reservation to Paharis. I want to tell Omar loud and clear that none can touch their reservation”.
He claimed that the BJP could not pass a reservation bill for the Paharis for six months because NC’s former MP Justice Hasnain Masoodi had stiffly opposed it in the Parliament. “While NC’s judge MP opposed reservation to Paharis in the parliament, his party tried to incite passions of the Gujjars. I allayed the apprehensions of our Gujjar and Bakerwal brethren and not even one percent of their reservation has been touched,” said Shah.
The home minister also declared that neither Farooq Abdullah nor Mehbooba Mufti would be forming the government in Jammu and Kashmir. “Congress and NC ruled here for 35 years and during their rule 40,000 people were, terrorism peaked, J&K remained shut for 3000 days and plunged into darkness for eight years,” he said. Shah also assured to wipe out terrorism once for all from Jammu and Kashmir “Omar Abdullah is trying to create fear among the people that terrorism will return to Jammu.
Abdullah Sahib, no matter what happens, I am declaring it today that our government is at the Centre, I am the home minister and Narendra Modi is the PM, and we will not allow terrorism to rear its head in these beautiful valleys,” he said. The home minister minced no words and held the three dynastic parties responsible for the under-development of Jammu region. “Two crore tourists visited Kashmir last year but why don’t tourists come to Rajouri- Poonch, which also witnesses snowfall, has hills, valleys and forests because these parties discriminated against the region.
We have decided to create two tourist cities in Rajouri and Poonch where tourists from around the world will come,” he said. “These three parties handed stones and machine guns in the hands of youth here. We will also give them machine guns but not to unleash terror.
They will be recruited through recruitment drives in army and paramilitary forces to guard the nation and take on the enemy,” he added. The second phase of the elections, on September 25, covers 26 constituencies, 15 in Kashmir’s Srinagar and Budgam districts and 11 in Jammu region’s Reasi, Rajouri and Poonch districts. The BJP is fighting the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls without any pre-poll alliance, while the Congress and the National Conference have forged a pre-poll alliance, covering 83 seats divided between the two parties — 31 and 52, respectively, two left for allies CPI-M and the Panthers Party and five where they could not reach an agreement and will have a “friendly contest”.
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