'Your family & party ruined Kashmir', Kiren Rijiju hits back at Rahul Gandhi for 'opportunistic' remark against BJP
Union minister and BJP leader Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday hit back at Congress President Rahul Gandhi for his 'opportunistic' remark about end of BJP-PDP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir.
Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi had said that the "opportunistic BJP-PDP alliance" set fire to Jammu and Kashmir, killing many innocent civilians and brave soldiers, and that the damage would continue even if the state was put under central rule.
Hitting back at the Congress leader for his remarks against BJP, Rijiju today claimed that while Saradar Vallabh Bhai Patel solved problems of all other states, Kashmir fell into trouble after Rahul Gandhi's grandfather Jawahar Lal Nehru took over.
"Sardar Patel ji solved all other regions. Nehru ji took charge of Kashmir & created more trouble. Thousands of people were killed, Kashmiri Pandits were slaughtered while more than 1,60,000 were forced out. Your family & party ruined Kashmir & you are accusing BJP?," Rijiju said in a tweet on Wednesday.
The three-year Jammu and Kashmir government, wracked by bitter political feuds and worsening security challenges, collapsed on Tuesday with the BJP pulling out of its alliance with the PDP setting the stage for yet another round of governor's rule.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav made the surprise announcement after the party high command summoned its Jammu and Kashmir ministers for emergency consultations in New Delhi. A few hours later, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti submitted her resignation to Governor NN Vohra amid a swirl of political activity in Srinagar and New Delhi.
"It has become untenable for the BJP to continue in the alliance government in the state," Madhav told reporters at a hurriedly called press conference.
The BJP blamed the PDP for failing to improve the security conditions in the Kashmir Valley. Madhav cited last week's killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari in the heart of Srinagar in the highly secured area of Press Enclave by unidentified gunmen. The same day -- two days before Eid -- an Army jawan was abducted while going on Eid leave and killed.
Terrorism, violence and radicalism have risen and the fundamental rights of citizens, including right to life and free speech, are in danger, the BJP leader said.
