Does Rahul want to ‘spread love’ or ‘vitiate atmosphere’ in J&K, asks Anurag Thakur

Jodhpur, Dec 29 (PTI) Ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday asked if the Congress leader is going to the Union territory to “spread love or to vitiate the atmosphere” there.

Thakur also said that Rahul Gandhi should make it clear if he is in favour of revocation of Article 370 and Article 35A.

“Rahul Gandhi is supposed to go to J&K as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Is he going there to spread love or vitiate the atmosphere? He must tell if he is in favour of revocation of Article 370 and Article 35A or not,” the minister told reporters here.

The Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started in Kanyakumari in September, is scheduled to end in J&K next month.

Thakur was in Jodhpur as part of his four-day visit to western Rajasthan to celebrate the New Year.

He further stated that the history of Congress is replete with incidents of riots right from the 1984 Sikh riots.

“History of Congress is full of riots. They are the ones who introduced Article 370 and Article 35A there, which led to the deaths of over 50,000 people in the past many years. It is my question to Gandhi that if he is in agreement with the revocation of these Articles,” Thakur said.

He further asked Gandhi that if he welcomes the developments that include an estimated 1.60 crore tourists’ visit to J&K in the past nine months, not a single incident of stone pelting and a severe crackdown on terrorism in the UT.

“And if this all has happened in favour of J&K, and employment as well as investments have surged there, then the Bharat Jodo Yatra is going there to spread love or to vitiate this atmosphere,” Thakur asked.

The BJP leader also slammed the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan for frequent incidents of paper leak.

“There have been eight incidents of paper leak in the state and the government has consistently failed to put a check on these incidents. Is it helpless?” he asked.

Thakur also hit out at the state government over the New Pension Scheme, stating that the Gehlot government is used to lay the blame on others.

“All the states gave their approval for the New Pension Scheme and there is a further process of the scheme,” he said.

He also took a dig at CM Gehlot, stating that his government has been stuck in an internal fight for the past four years and the state is suffering.