Cong shells Govt at its rally in the Valley

As artillery guns boomed away in the background, the Congress today spoke the politics of peace and demanded that issues with Pakistan be re...

As artillery guns boomed away in the background, the Congress today spoke the politics of peace and demanded that issues with Pakistan be resolved through a dialogue rather than a war. In fact, even as Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was criticising Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s rhetoric as ‘‘irresponsible’’ and a ‘‘slur on the image of the country’’, the sounds of Pakistani shelling from across the Loc could be heard.

‘‘We have not seen such an irresponsible prime minister anywhere in the world,’’ Azad said at a rally that kicked off the party’s campaign for Assembly polls in the Valley. ‘‘He came to Kupwara and spoke of a decisive battle with Pakistan. The very next day, he changed his mood and in Srinagar he claimed that the sky was clear of war clouds. In Delhi, he again spoke of war clouds hovering above the border,’’ said Azad. ‘‘He says something in Srinagar, changes it in Jammu and comes up with a totally contradictory statement in Delhi’’.

Although fear of Pakistani shelling heightened after Sunday’s pounding , Azad was welcomed by around 2,000 supporters. Two Pakistani artillery shells landed today on the outskirts of this border township.

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Azad also criticised the Rs 6,000-crore package unveiled by the prime minister in Srinagar. ‘‘The prime minister played around with Kashmiris when he announced a Rs 6000-crore package. The truth is that the Rs 3,500 crore announced for funding the railways was actually passed by Parliament five years ago. And what do Kashmiris have to do with a Manali road? The NC government kept silent even though they know the truth,’’ Azad said.

‘‘The prime minister and his party have failed to secure the borders of the country and end militancy,’’ he added. According to him, the Congress and other opposition parties had extended their support to the government on this issue only to expose them. ‘‘They lack a policy as well as consistency in approach. If we had opposed them, they would immediately have blamed us for becoming a hurdle in the decisive battle.’’

Azad also criticised the government for mobilising troops along the borders for six long months. ‘‘When they first sent the troops, the temperatures were minus 50 degrees at many places. Now, our jawans are facing 50 degrees in areas like Rajasthan,’’ he said. ‘‘And ironically nobody knows what the government has in store for them’’.

Another senior Congress leader and the architect of the mainstream political process in Kashmir, Ghulam Rasool Kar, also pitched for de-escalation. ‘‘A war is neither in our favour nor in Pakistan’s,’’ he said. ‘‘People living in the plains of India have no idea about war, but Kashmiris have seen war and know how much misery and destruction it brings with it.’’

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Another issue Kar raised was that of restoration of internal autonomy to Kashmir. ‘‘Our internal autonomy was snatched from us, and that definitely aggravated the alienation. Now a time has reached that all the top bureaucrats and top police brass serving here are non-Kashmiri,’’ he said.

Modi will address a rally in the district and open the Purnea airport that will provide air connectivity to several metro cities, fulfilling a longstanding demand in the Seemanchal region.

PM Modi to open Purnea airport, launch Makhana Board in Monday’s visit to poll-bound Bihar

India2 hr ago

PM Modi will visit Purnea, Bihar, on Monday to inaugurate projects worth Rs 36,000 crore, including an airport and launch the National Makhana Board. The visit is aimed at boosting development and addressing the neglected Seemanchal region. PM will also announce projects worth Rs 35,461 crore and distribute benefits to beneficiaries under different schemes.

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