Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader KJ Alphons on Monday said the Kerala unit of the Congress party has made “strange statements” on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. He said that everyone knows that more than 1.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits were thrown out on communal lines, either by the ruling government, which was the Congress or the governments backed by it.
In the Lok Sabha, Union Minister Jitendra Singh also attacked the Congress on the Kashmir issue. Defending the decision to abolish Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcate it into two union territories, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that if the Congress party feels that everything has gone wrong due to abrogation of Article 370. He should say this publicly. Intervening in the Lok Sabha to discuss the Supplementary Demands for Grants for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the financial year 2022-23 and the fiscal year 2021-22, Singh said, “Will the Congress party say in this House that If she comes to power, will she bring back Article 370? Congress should put an end to the question in this regard by expressing its views on this matter.
Targeting the Congress, he said that you do not have the courage to say so because you know the public sentiment. Holding the Congress responsible for the problem of Jammu and Kashmir, he said that there was an agreement between former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and after that the subjects were not looked at properly. He said Kashmiri Pandits were selectively targeted, a policy of killing one and intimidating thousands was adopted, forcing Kashmiri Pandits to leave.
Referring to the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said that earlier there was no anti-dowry law, Scheduled Caste-Scheduled Tribe Atrocities Prevention Act, Right to Information Act, Prevention of Corruption Act etc. They were implemented there only after 370 was removed. He said that now the provisions of strengthening the local bodies have been implemented, due to which 10 thousand crore rupees are being sent to the local body fund. Jitendra Singh said that earlier there was lack of any systematic rules and procedures for recruitment in jobs in Jammu and Kashmir. Now they have been given a systematic form.
Referring to the development of industries in Jammu and Kashmir in the last few years, he said that proposals for investment worth Rs 50,000 crore have been received in Jammu and Kashmir and the process of land acquisition in this regard is underway. Referring to the reduction in cross-border infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370, Singh said that in 2010, when the Congress-led UPA government was in power, there were 489 infiltration attempts in Jammu and Kashmir, compared to the BJP-led government in 2014. In the coming year it came down to 222. He said that 77 infiltration attempts were made in Jammu and Kashmir in the year 2021 and this year 4 such attempts have been made in two months. The minister said that this is a big change.