By Rupesh Samant
Panaji, Aug 18: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday demanded that Congress party President Sonia Gandhi should make the statement on centre’s decision to revoke Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that the Congress leaders are “speaking in different tones” after the centre’s historic decision on Jammu and Kashmir while their party president Sonia Gandhi has maintained silence over the issue.
“The Congress party is confused on how to react over centre’s decision to revoke Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Various leaders of the Congress party are speaking in different tones while Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have not spoken on the issue,” he told a press conference in Panaji where he is down to address BJP workers’ convention.
“I demand that Sonia ji should make her statement and express her perspective over the Jammu and Kashmir. I am not expecting Rahul Gandhi to speak on it” he commented terming the former Congress President as “Rann Chhod Das.”
“Rahul Gandhi has become Rann Chhod Das Gandhi, who after the defeat in Lok Sabha elections ran away abandoning the party while it was his duty to rebuilt the organization,” he commented.
Chouhan said that the Congress party is busy in ensuring that the monopoly of a single family is not lost over the organization.
Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah over their decision on J&K, Chouhan equated them to “Lord Krishna and Arjun”.
“The country is going ahead under leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home minister Amit Shah. They are busy taking ahead the country like ‘Krishna and Arjun,” he commented.
Referring to the past, Chouhan blamed former Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s “wrong priorities” for the sufferings of Goa and J&K in the past.
He said that it was due to wrong policies of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that the erstwhile Portuguese colony remained without being liberated for several years, even after India got the independence.
Goa was liberated in the year 1961, almost 14 years after India’s independence.
“Due to wrong priorities of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that Goa remained under Portuguese rule for years together despite the fact that Goans and people from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh were struggling for its liberation,” he recalled.
“But after the liberation, Goa has prospered and in the similar way, J&K will also develop now after the revoking of Article 370,” he said.
Chouhan also said that it was due to wrong policies of Nehru that Pakistan occupied Kashmir region was created despite the faac that Indian armed forces had sent back the neighbouring forces during the war.
“When Indian Armed forces had retaliated and sent back Pakistani soldiers, Nehru announced one-sided cease fire due to which the PoK remained under their control or else it would have become an integral part of India,” he said.