Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde has stirred a political debate among the parties after he openly admitted that he had a deep-rooted fear of traveling to Jammu and Kashmir during his tenure serving as the Home Minister in the Manmohan Singh led UPA-government era.
Speaking at the launch of his memoir 'Five Decades of Politics', Shinde said, "I used to contact Vijay Dhar when I was the Home Minister, before my trip to Srinagar. He suggested that I go to Lal Chowk to give a lecture, meet some people, and take a walk around Dal Lake instead of aimlessly meandering around. That counsel brought me a great deal of attention and showed the public that there was a Home Minister who goes there without any fear, lekin meri fat'ti this wo kisko bataoon? (but who do I tell that I was scared?) I told you this just to make you laugh, but an ex-Policeman can't speak like this..."
At the book's launch, Shinde made this revelation in front of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, which sparked a flurry of political discussion. Shinde's remarks have been pounced upon by the BJP, who intends to use them as justification for the UPA government, led by the Congress, failing to adequately address the Kashmir issue. Shinde was appointed as India's home minister by then prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2012.
Notably, after the Centre abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 on August 5, 2019, restoration of peace and developmental activities taking peace, compared to the past, stands out as its most significant achievement.
From 5,063 recorded incidences of stone-pelting between 2015 and 2019, to just 434 between 2019 and 2023, there has been a sharp decline in these incidents. In a similar vein, the number of terrorists killed has not decreased; 675 rebels have been neutralized in the last four years as opposed to 740 in the four before. Furthermore, from 2015 to 2019, 379 security personnel were martyred; however, in the subsequent period, the number fell to 146.
Shinde's memoir Five Decades in Politics, which is narrated to senior journalist Rasheed Kidwai, also speaks about how in-house detractors ensured that he did not continue as Maharashtra Chief Minister after the 2004 Assembly victory due to “forward caste considerations,” while lamenting that it was ironic that his caste would become a “hurdle”.
BJP reacts to Shinde's remark
Reacting to Shinde's remark on Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said in an X post,"UPA era Home Minister Sushil Shinde admits he was scared of going to J&K “They told me to go Kashmir and do Photo-op at Dal lake for me and UPA's Public image as Home Minister of India. But I was scared." Today Rahul Gandhi was comfortably seen doing Bharat Jodo Yatra & snow fight in Kasmir! But NC & Congress want to take back J&K back to days of terror."
