New Delhi, May 28: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said that if Pakistan "does not have the capability to curb terrorist activity in its territory, it should seek India's help".
Singh was replying to questions from Rajat Sharma in the show Aap Ki Adalat, to be telecast on India TV tonight.
"I want to give a message to Pakistan. Pakistan should curb terrorist activities on its soil. If Pakistan feels it does not have the capability to curb terrorist activities, it should seek assistance from India. If they want, it can happen. They can also seek assistance from other countries of the world."
(Main yahan se Pakistan ko yeh sandesh dena chahta hoon ki Pakistan apne yahan aatankwadi gatividhiyon ko rokey. Yadi Pakistan aatankvadi gatividhi ko rokna chahta hai, aur Pakistan ke paas ise rokne ki quwwat (capability) nahin hai, toh use Bharat ka bhi sahyog prapt karna chahiye. Woh chahen, toh kar sakta hai. Woh chahe toh Vishwa ke anya deshon se sahyog prapt kar sakta hai).
When Rajat Sharma pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said during his poll campaign that a 56-inch chest was needed to tackle Pakistan, Rajnath Singh quipped: "It has not decreased. I am the Home Minister. I know confidential matters. I have the IB with me. It has not decreased. There should be no doubts on that score. I can only say that the 56-inch chest is there. Not an inch has decreased. In the cabinet, who can know the Prime Minister better than me?”
("Woh kam nahin hua hai. Main Home Minister hoon. Andar ki baat jaanta hoon. IB (Intelligence Bureau) mere paas hai. Kam nahin hua. Isme sandeha kisi ko nahin hona chahiye. Main itna hi kahoonga woh 56 inch ka seena hai. Ek inch bhi kam nahin hua hai. Mantrimandal me mujhse behtar Pradhan Mantri ko kaun janega?)
The Home Minister said, there has been a 52 per cent decline in infiltration from Pakistan in the last two years. "Terrorist, extremist, Maoist activities have been at their lowest points compared to the last 10 years. The number of security personnel martyred at the hands of Maoists has come down."
On the terror attack on Pathankot air base, Singh said, it is because of our strategy that the world's superpower US has asked Pakistan to cooperate in the investigation into the Pathankot attack.
The Home Minister disclosed that "some papers" in the Home Ministry file on Ishrat Jahan case were missing.
"Some papers that should have been there in the Home Ministry file are unavailable. I have formed a committee to investigate. We will soon get the committee's report. It will reveal who is guilty."
(Ishrat Jahan case se jude hue kai dastaavez jo Home Ministry ki file me hona chahiya, we uplabdh nahin hai. Uski jaanch karne ke liye maine ek committee bana rakhi hai. Committee ki report ab jald aane wali hai. Kaun doshi hai, koun nahin, uska khulasa ho jayega.)
Singh said, "changes were made during Congress rule in the ministry's affidavit in Ishrat Jehan case. These changes were done by persons belonging to Congress. It may be because of political reasons. I do not want to make personal allegations, but I feel that attempts were made to politicize Ishrat jehan case."
(Affidavit hum logon ne nahin badli thi. Affidavit me jo bhi changes huye they, Congress ke samay me huye they, Congress ke logon ne kiya tha. Ho sokta hai ki kisi ne rajneetik kaaranon se idhar-udhar ki hogi. Main vyaktigat aarop nahin lagata, par main maanta hoon ki kahin na kahin Ishrat Jahan maamle ko politicize karne ki koshish ki gayi)
On why Pragya Thakur was given clean chit by the National Investigation Agency in the Malegaon blast case, the Home Minister said: "NIA investigated. Doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani ho gaya. NIA is the agency that has been given maximum autonomy. Till now, the NIA used to send files to Home Ministry before seeking legal opinion. I directed that NIA being autonomous should not send files to our ministry. NIA can send its file directly to Law Ministry for legal opinion. How much autonomy, neutrality do you want?"
Asked how all witnesses in the Malegaon blast case changed their versions within two years, Singh replied: "Ask the NIA. Why there was an earlier version, and why a different one now."
On Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's charge that nearly Rs 1,000-crore was spent by NDA on its ad campaign, Rajnath Singh replied: "A small government in Delhi, which is not even a state, but a UT, have you seen their ads? They are published in places like Chennai, Assam, Sikkim, Nagaland. We did not advertise the whole year. After completing two years, we wanted to create a sense of confidence among the people so that the nation could now whether we are fulfilling their expectations. We are only informing the people of the country through ads, and not for gaining fame."
On the issue of black money, Rajnath Singh said, no promise was ever made during the poll campaign that Rs 15 lakh would be deposited in everybody's bank account. "I was then the president of the party. It is under my leadership the party manifesto is prepared. I never made any such statement. There was a perception that given the huge amount of offshore black money present, the average came to Rs 15 lakh per person. But this was merely an "example" (nazeer, udaaharan), nothing else."
The Home Minister said "55 years of Congress rule" was to be blamed for the rise in number of suicides by farmers.
"It is a paradox (vidambanaa). I belong to a farmer's family, I live in village. I understand the woes of farmers. Their plight is pathetic, but who is responsible? It was Congress which ruled the country non-stop for 55 years since independence. Why couldn't they change the fate of farmers?
"The situation now is such, that forget two years, give us at least five years. We will ensure that no farmer will be forced to commit suicide because of distress. Our PM has announced that we will double the incomes of farmers by 2022. We are tackling the reasons leading to suicides by farmers."
Elaborating, he said, for the first time since independence, the Pradhan Mantra Fasal Beema Yojana provides for removal of cap on compensation. "Farmers will have to pay only 1.5 to 2 pc premium, and the rest will be borne by the government. Farmers will now get the full compensation for crop losses."
Describing the lynching of Akhlaq in Dadri, UP, as "unfortunate", the Home Minister said, "I feel such incidents should never place in a country like India. Anybody having knowledge about India's culture and traditions will never commit such a heinous crime. Our saints gave the slogan 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam' (the world is one family) to the world."
On Haryana chief minister M L Khattar's remark that Muslims eating beef have no place in India, Singh emphatically said: "No, I completely disagree with this. All Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Parsis, who are born in the womb of India, are offsprings of Bharat Mata. All of us have to stay and work together."
On the completion of two years of NDA rule, Singh said: "Only two years have elapsed. Congress lost its 55 years. We need at least five to 10 years to bring about a complete turnaround. I want to say, if you do not find the change in trend in these five years, the people are free to remove us from power. But five years are not enough for a complete turnaround, but five years can give people the feeling about changes that are happening. The nation has already started feeling that the changes have begun."
Rajnath Singh in Rajat Sharma's show Aap Ki Adalat will be aired on India TV tonight at 10 pm. The repeat telecast will be made on Sunday at 10 am and 10 pm.
