Don't repeat 1971 mistake, Rajnath warns Pak

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said we do not accept the existence of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Pakistan has kept it forcibly occupied and therefore, even today, 24 seats have been kept vacant for PoK in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and I will not say beyond this.

Jaipur: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday reminded Islamabad about the breakup of Pakistan and the creation of Bangladesh, warning that something similar could happen in PoK if it did not mend its ways. Do not repeat the "mistake", he said here.

"Pakistan broke up in 1971 Pakistan and Bangladesh were formed. I am saying do not repeat the mistake, or else understand clearly what will happen to PoK," he said.

Singh made the reference to the 1971 War, fought when Indira Gandhi was prime minister, during an event at Dhankya village in the memory of RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

"We do not accept the existence of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Pakistan has kept it forcibly occupied and therefore, even today, 24 seats have been kept vacant for PoK in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and I will not say beyond this," Singh said.

He said India was "very careful" while taking action against terror camps in Balakot across the border after the Pulwama attack.

It was not an attack on Pakistan's army or a challenge to the sovereignty of Pakistan, he added.

But he warned that he cannot predict "what will happen next" if the current situation continued.

He said the BJP does politics for nation-building and by revoking the special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and 35-A, it showed that there is no difference in what the party says and does. But the neighbouring country does not understand this, he added.

Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Howdy, Modi' event in Houston where he addressed a rally of thousands of Indian-Americans along with US President Donald Trump, Singh said it made every Indian proud.

"You must have seen 'Howdy, Modi' on TV. Did not it swell your chest with pride?" Singh asked.

He said the sense of pride one would feel when PM Modi "with a 56-inch chest" and Trump, the President of the "most powerful" country, clasped hands and walked across the stage was similar among Indians when Swami Vivekananda made the speech in Chicago in 1893.

He said the Modi government was committed for the overall development of the country and its people while following the principles of Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

Upadhyay in his Ekatm Manavdad (integral humanism) had said the government should ensure that citizens should have money in order to fulfil physical needs, honour respect and self-esteem, knowledge and understanding, the Defence Minister said.

He said the banks were nationalised earlier during the Congress regime and it was argued that the move was aimed at benefiting the poor.

"But the real advantage to the poor was given by the Modi government through Jan Dhan Yojna, which was a kind of revolution,' Singh said.

He said the Modi government was committed for the nation's development and dedicated to the poor and took steps for their upliftment and for protecting their honour.

The Union minister also spoke about Ayushman Bharat scheme and the construction of toilets in houses by the government among others.