Prayagraj/Jaunpur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to India and "we will take it back". Addressing rallies in Prayagraj and Jaunpur districts of Uttar Pradesh to seek votes for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates, he also said "we need a strong prime minister who can give a befitting reply to Pakistan".
Accusing the Congress of "preserving" Article 370 of the Constitution for 70 years, Shah hit out at the president of the party, Mallikarjun Kharge. Slamming Kharge for saying people in other states have nothing to do with Kashmir, he said, "Khargeji, you are aged above 80 years, but you have not been able to understand this country. Every child of Allahabad is ready to give their lives for Kashmir.
"(NC chief) Farooq Abdullah and (Congress leader) Mani Shankar Aiyar say give respect to Pakistan because it has the atom bomb. Rahul baba, today, from the sacred land of Prayagraj I will say that PoK is ours, will remain ours and we will take it back." In a video clip that has gone viral on social media, Aiyar is purportedly heard saying India should give respect to Pakistan as it is a sovereign country and engage with it as it also possesses the atom bomb. While Aiyar has said the video was old, the Congress has distanced itself from the remarks made by him some months ago.
Hitting out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Jaunpur's Machhlishahr constituency, Shah said, "The Congress, SP and the INDI Alliance threaten us, saying give respect to Pakistan, do not ask for PoK because they have the atom bomb. Rahul baba, if you want to feel scared, feel scared of the atom bomb, but PoK belongs to India and we will take it back."
He pointed out that on August 5, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi abrogated Article 370, which had bestowed special rights on Jammu and Kashmir. In Prayagraj, he said, "Rahul baba used to say if Article 370 is scrapped, then streams of blood will flow. I have come to tell Rahul baba that leave streams of blood, no one has the courage to even throw a small stone. This is the government of Narendra Modi, who has worked towards freeing the country from terrorism."
Claiming that opposition leaders did not attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as they were afraid of losing their vote bank, Shah said those in the BJP do not fear anyone. "The Congress and the Samajwadi Party kept the Ram temple (matter) pending for 70 years. The SP government opened fire on kar sevaks. You made Modiji the prime minister for the second time, he won the court case, performed the 'bhoomipujan' (ground-breaking ceremony) and also the 'pran pratishtha' (consecration) of the temple," he said.
In Kashmir, where the Army had to be taken along for hoisting the tricolour, "at that same Lal Chowk (in Srinagar) now, the 'shobhayatra' of Lord Krishna is taken out", Shah told the Jaunpur rally. He said during the previous Congress-led UPA rule at the Centre, there were bomb blasts "virtually everyday".
"The aliya, maliya, jamaliya would infiltrate and explode bombs. When the Modi government came, they carried out explosions in Pulwama and Uri and in 10 days, surgical strikes and airstrikes were conducted and terrorists eliminated in Pakistan by Modiji," the home minister said.
Claiming that leaders of the INDIA bloc have said Article 370 will be brought back if the alliance of opposition parties forms the government, he said, "Should Article 370 be brought back? They want to bring back triple talaq, should it be brought back? They want to give reservation to Muslims, should it be given? They want to scrap the CAA, should it be scrapped? They also want to destroy nuclear weapons. This INDI Alliance cannot take the country forward."
Hiting out at dynasty politics, Shah claimed that RJD chief Lalu Prasad wants to make his son the chief minister of Bihar, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi wants to make her son the prime minister, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray wants to make his son the chief minister of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin wants to appoint his son to the top post in the southern state and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants her nephew to succeed her.
"Rahul baba, this country is not a grocery shop. We need a strong prime minister who can give a befitting reply to Pakistan. Who is that prime minister who has a 56-inch chest? The writing on the wall is that on June 4, Modiji is going to become the prime minister for the third time," he said.
Claiming that Congress leaders say the country should be divided into two parts -- South India and North India -- Shah said the opposition party is not satisfied with dividing India once, it wants to divide the country again. "The BJP will never allow another division of the country," he added.
The senior BJP leader also accused the Congress of spreading the lie that if Modi comes to power for a third time, he will abolish reservation. "Modiji has the majority for the last 10 years and he did not use it to abolish reservation. The Congress, SP and BSP are spreading lies. As long as the BJP has even one MP, no one can touch reservation," he said.
The home minister also accused the Congress of being anti-Dalit and alleged that it has always insulted B R Ambedkar. Allahabad and Machhlishahr are scheduled to go to polls in the sixth phase of the seven-phase parliamentary election on May 25.
