Taking a swipe at the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Monday that Jammu and Kashmir has not only been downgraded to a Union Territory but is also being ruled by outsiders.
Addressing a huge rally in support of JKPCC President Tariq Hameed Karra at Central Shalteng constituency in Srinagar, Gandhi referred to J&K's Lieutenant Governor as a “Raja who is working against the wishes of the people here”. He added, “He doesn’t know how to work.”
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Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Modi for speaking eloquently in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ (talk from the heart) programme but neglecting the ‘Kaam ki Baat’ (talk of work). He said, “Kaam ki baat means addressing unemployment and restoring statehood in J&K.”
“The fact is that nobody listens to the Mann ki Baat of PM Modi anymore,” he said.
Referring to the lead-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Gandhi said it was said that Modi had a 56-inch chest and would speak with confidence, but “the INDIA alliance has managed to dent his psychology. "His confidence is lost,” he said.
“I see him very closely in the Lok Sabha, while people see him on TV,” he said. “His mood has changed, and his face has changed.” He credited the INDIA alliance for the shift.
Gandhi accused BJP leaders of spreading hatred and dividing people.
“They have spread hatred across the country. Hatred cannot be dealt with hatred but with love,” he said.
He recalled his Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he travelled 4,000 km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. “Wherever the BJP had opened its shops of hatred, we opened shops of love,” he said. “We will continue to do the same.”
He said this is the first time a state has been downgraded to a Union Territory. “We have seen Union Territories being converted into states, not the other way around,” he said. “We want statehood to be restored as soon as possible so that J&K becomes a state again. We wanted this to happen before the elections, but the BJP didn't.”
He vowed that Congress would pressurise the BJP to restore statehood after the polls. “If they don’t do it, I guarantee you that we will, as it is your democratic right,” he said.