Union Minister and BJP leader Prakash Javadekar slammed former Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his comments over the abrogation of Article 370 and clampdown in Kashmir on Tuesday. This after Rahul Gandhi’s comments were used in a letter Pakistan sent to the United Nations.
“Sometimes it seems like Rahul’s thinking has changed now that he has won from Wayanad,” Javadekar said, responding to his comment that there were reports of violence and reports of people dying in Kashmir. Rahul is the MP of Wayanad, and the district has a population of 49% Muslim and Christians. This isn’t the first time that the BJP has attacked the Congress over Rahul’s election from Wayanad. Prior to the Lok Sabha Election, PM Modi had reportedly said, “Leaders of that party are now scared of contesting from constituencies dominated by the majority (Hindu) population. That is why they are forced to take refuge in places where the majority is a minority”.
When reportedly asked by journalists about his remark, Javadekar clarified that his comments were not about the constituency, but its representative.
Kashmir has been on lockdown for 23 days, amid a communication blackout that has hampered the functioning of many services. On August 10, Rahul had said, "There are reports of violence. There are reports of people dying in Jammu and Kashmir, so we stopped our deliberations and had a presentation on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.”
Javadekar called the former Congress President's comments criticising the abrogation of Article 370 as "shameful". Referring to Rahul’s comment on reports of violence, Javadekar further said: “Where did you bring this information from? Rahul Gandhi, you were very wrong. The situation in Kashmir is not bad. The kind of violence you are imagining are not taking place and people have not died. However, this statement was very popular in Pakistan. And this is mentioned in the application Pakistan sent to the UN.”
The Union Minister was referring to Pakistan Minister for Human Rights Shireen M Mazari’s letter to UN officials on Tuesday. The letter listed Pakistan's reservations about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and quoted Rahul Gandhi. "These, and other, acts of violence have even been acknowledged by mainstream politicians, such as the Leader of the Congress Party. Mr Rahul Gandhi who has noted ‘people dying’ in Jammu & Kashmir, in light of events going very wrong there."
Following the letter, Rahul tweeted that Kashmir is “India’s internal issue”.
"Kashmir is India's internal issue and there is no room for Pakistan or any other foreign country to interfere in it. There is violence in Jammu and Kashmir. There is violence because it is instigated and supported by Pakistan, which is known to be the prime supporter of terrorism across the world," Rahul tweeted. Rahul also tweeted that while he disagrees with the ruling BJP government on many counts, there was no doubt about the fact that Kashmir was an internal issue.
Randeep Singh Surjewala, in-charge of communications at Congress, issued a letter following reports of Rahul being quoted in Pakistan's letter said that Rahul had been "mischievously dragged" to justify the pack of lies and deliberate misinformation being spread by Pakistan."
Javadekar responded to this and said that the shift in the Congress' position is not because of its change of mindset but due to political compulsions.