Congress hobnobbed with anti-nationals to barter national interests for political gains: Sham Sharma

BJP says, ‘Congress party responsible for all ills plaguing  in J&K, should apologize to people, nation’

JAMMU January 25 : Former minister and State Vice President BJP Sham Lal Sharma on Wednesday reminded Congress party of all sins it committed in Jammu and Kashmir, which have been responsible for all ills plaguing the Union Territory.

Sharma, while reacting to the so-called Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) being taken out by the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, said the party always hobnobbed with anti-national forces in Jammu and Kashmir and bartered the national interests for political gains.

“In November 1986, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the National Conference president Farooq Abdullah signed an accord that reinstated the latter as Chief Minister. The large rigging in March 1987 elections, conducted only four months after the swearing-in of the chief minister Farooq Abdullah, was a watershed moment in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. It forced the people to pick up guns and led to the creation of Syed Salahuddin, the head the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen,” Sharma recalled while ridiculing Rahul Gandhi’s remarks “to open a Mohabbat Ki Dukan (shop of love) in a bazaar of nafrat (market of hate)”.

The former minister said the Congress party, which has been making baseless allegations against BJP, resorted to brutal murder of democracy in 1987 as it formed the basis of all problems being faced by the people of Jammu and Kashmir since then.

“Lakhs of innocent Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) were driven away by the armed terrorists from Kashmir Valley because the Congress party hobnobbed with the National Conference. The selective targeting of Kashmir Hindus began while Rajiv Gandhi was ruling a Congress government at the Centre and Farooq Abdullah in J&K. Thousands of people have lost their lives due to turmoil created in 1987. Congress has, however, remained unapologetic to the worst carnage of Independent India,” the senior BJP leader said.

Sharma also recalled that the then Governor Jagmohan had been handling the situation quite effectively but the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was the opposition leader at that time, humiliated him and did not allow his administration to work smoothly.

“During the former Prime Minister V.P. Singh-led government, the first all party delegation led by then Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal visited Srinagar on March 9, 1990. The delegation included the leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Rajiv Gandhi and other leaders. Jammu and Kashmir was under Governor’s rule. Jagmohan, who had served earlier as the Governor, was sent to bring the situation under control by then Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. Unfortunately, the Congress conspired against the then Governor Jagmohan,” the BJP leader said.

Sharma said it was an open secret that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, after returning to Delhi, made it a prestige issue that the  then Governor did not come to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister-led delegation at airport and  told the then Prime Minister VP Singh that the Governor Jagmohan had no political understanding of the situation.

“It was due to weak and skewed policies of the Congress party over the years that Kashmiri Hindus had been subjected to uncounted miseries. The Congress leadership should tender an apology to Kashmiri Hindus,” he said.