Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday slammed senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar over his comments on Pakistan asserting that Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) is part of India and nobody can snatch it.
“Mani Shanker Aiyar is threatening the country to give respect to Pakistan as they have the atom bomb. A few days ago, Farooq Abdullah, the leader of the same INDIA bloc, had said that don’t talk about PoK, Pakistan has the atom bomb. I want to tell the Congress and the alliance that PoK belongs to India, no one can snatch it,” Mr. Shah told a rally in Khunti in Jharkhand.
“Instead of taking back PoK from Pakistan, Congress is scaring the people of India by talking about the atom bomb. I don’t know what has happened to the Congress party. BJP’s stand is clear that every inch of land of PoK belongs to India and should remain in India,” he said.
The BJP leader was reacting to Mr. Aiyar’s statement that was made months ago in an interview. The Congress leader issued a statement that the video being circulated is old and the BJP is circulating it because its Lok Sabha campaign is faltering.
On Friday morning, media and publicity department chairman of the Congress, Pawan Khera, posted a message on X saying the party disassociated itself from and completely disagreed with certain comments made by Mr. Aiyar.
‘Congress vote banks are infiltrators’
Mr. Shah, campaigning for Union Minister Arjun Munda who is contesting the Khunti Lok Sabha seat, alleged that the Congress neglected tribals. He accused the party and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha of backing the banned outfit Popular Front of India.
“Congress vote banks are the infiltrators who grab the land of tribals. They are constructing their own colonies. Infiltrators are the biggest threat to Jharkhand. Today they are trying to tie the knot with the tribal girls secretly. The only party who can stop them is the BJP, no one else,” Mr. Shah said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh campaigned in Jharkhand’s Dumka Lok Sabha constituency for BJP candidate Seeta Soren and lashed out at the Congress on the issue of reservation. “Nobody can dare to end reservation. Congress is misleading our tribal brothers and sisters,” Mr. Singh said.
Mr. Singh said the Prime Minister does not discriminate and said since the Congress has nothing to talk about, it is spreading “canards about the BJP ending reservation”.
Referring to the recent searches conducted by the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate on Congress leaders and their associates, Mr. Singh accused the Jharkhand government of “drinking the blood of poor people”. “This government is drinking the blood of poor people. It is cheating the people of Jharkhand. You must take revenge through vote,” Mr. Singh said.
