Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Elections 2024 | BJP slams Rahul Gandhi, Congress after Pakistan agrees on restoring Article 370

The BJP on Thursday seized on the reported comments of Pakistani minister Khwaja Asif on Article 370 to slam the "treacherous" Congress-National Conference alliance for allegedly running the neighbouring country's agenda in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls.

Several BJP leaders posted Asif's remarks to a Pakistani channel that his country shared the view of the Congress-NC alliance that Article 370, which gave the union territory special powers and was scrapped in August 2019, should be restored.

BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh, who is in charge of the party's affairs in J and K, claimed the opposition alliance is running Pakistani agenda in the ongoing polls.

Ram Madhav, one of the two BJP election in-charges for the polls, said on X while sharing Asif's reported comments, "A clear challenge to people of J&K. NC-Congress alliance is 'on same page' with Pakistan, declares Pak Defence Minister Khwaja Asif. People will teach a big lesson to this treasonous alliance in the elections. J&K will stand with those who stand with Hindustan, not those 'on same page' with Pakistan."

Credit: X/@rammadhav_

It may be mentioned that the NC in its manifesto has pledged its support to restoring Article 370, while the Congress has maintained silence on the contentious issue.

Chugh alleged that it is now clear that the Congress-NC alliance is working at the behest of Pakistani government, and that the intention of Pakistan to interfere in the elections has been exposed as well.

It has been a key agenda of the Abdullah and Gandhi families to keep the situation unstable in Jammu and Kashmir, he charged.

Talking to reporters in Jammu, Chugh said, "The statement by Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif clearly shows that Rahul Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah are speaking Pakistan’s language".

"Asif's statement, indicating that Pakistan, NC, and Congress are on the same page, exposes their separatist rhetoric. It is about breaking the country, releasing terrorists from jail, renaming Shankaracharya and Hari Parbat, and changing reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs. This is the dictation that the Gandhis and Abdullahs are receiving from Pakistan," he charged.

Lashing out at the Gandhis and Abdullahs, Chugh blamed them for the death, destruction, and turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Rahul Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah are dancing to Pakistan's tunes. They are promoting and carrying forward Pakistan's agenda in Jammu and Kashmir. Both parties are puppets of Pakistan," he claimed.

Expressing confidence in the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Chugh said they would not succumb to Pakistan’s agenda.

"The nationalist people of Jammu and Kashmir will not allow the implementation of Pakistan’s agenda through the Gandhis and Abdullahs. The restoration of Article 370 will remain a mere dream for them," he added.

Chugh also emphasized that as long as the BJP is in power, Article 370 will never be reinstated.

"Modi ji's government has freed Jammu and Kashmir from the clutches of Article 370 and 35A. Jammu and Kashmir will never be chained again," he asserted.

Asif's remarks came amid the ongoing assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the first since the abrogation of the state's special status by the Narendra Modi-led government in 2019.

Meanwhile, BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar also questioned the power that Pakistan had over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

“Pakistan and National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page in Jammu & Kashmir to restore Article 370 and 35A”.

This comes as Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are under way, a first since the abrogation of Article 370.

"Under Rahul Gandhi the Cong position on every issue is always the same as Pakistans position. Take any position from J&K to Bangladesh - they hv same position,(sic)" Chandrasekhar wrote in a post on X, adding: "What powrr does Pakistan exercise over Rahul? What is reason for this control? Do the Pakis hv some leverage on Cong ? 🤔(sic)"

Meanwhile, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and Congress ally has said that Article 370 is the heartbeat of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and will be restored.

(With Webdesk inputs)