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Reacting to Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif's claims on the Congress-National Conference alliance regarding the restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Thursday said that the Congress is following in the footsteps of Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
"What affection does Congress have with China? What affection does the Gandhi family have with Pakistan?... Pakistan says that its thoughts align with Congress and NC. It is clear now that you (Congress) are following the footsteps of Jinnah (Muhammad Ali Jinnah). You want to break Jammu and Kashmir. The people of the nation will answer Rahul Gandhi and Congress," Sirsa said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also attacked Congress and said that his statement has made clear that Congress and Pakistan have the same intentions and agenda. In a post on a microblogging site X, Amit Shah wrote, "Pakistan's Defence Minister's statement about Congress and JKNC's support on Article 370 and 35A has once again exposed Congress. This statement has once again made it clear that Congress and Pakistan have the same intentions and agenda. For the last few years, Rahul Gandhi has been standing with every anti-India force, hurting the sentiments of the countrymen." Citing examples of Congress demanding proof of air strikes and surgical strikes, Shah accused Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi of supporting "every anti-India force" for years, which eventually has hurt sentiments of Indians. He further cautioned Congress and Pakistan, saying that as long as PM Narendra Modi government is in power at the Centre, neither Article 370 nor terrorism can return to Kashmir. Speaking on Geo News to senior journalist Hamid Mir in a show 'Capital Talk', the Pakistan Defence Minister was asked whether Pakistan and National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page on the restoration of Article 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir. Khwaja Asif replied, "Absolutely. Even our demand is also the same..." Pakistan's Defence Minister also claimed that that Article 370 could return should the NC-Congress alliance come to power in Jammu and Kashmir. "I think it is possible. Currently, the National Conference and Congress have very big importance over there. The population of the valley has been motivated a lot on this issue and I believe, there is a chance that the Conference (National Conference) will come to power. They have made this an election issue that the status of Jammu and Kashmir should be restored," Asif told Geo News. (ANI)
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