Modi targets Congress, says gave false assurances on Kashmir

Rewari (Haryana) [India], Oct 19 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday accused the Congress of not repealing Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir despite it being a temporary provision and said the party-led government kept giving false assurances to the country even as Kashmiri Pandits were forced out of the Valley by separatists and terrorists.
Addressing an election rally here, Modi said he had not become Prime Minister to keep his eyes closed to the issues facing the country.
The Prime Minister devoted a large part of his speech to national security in the region which has a large presence of ex-servicemen.
He accused Congress of trying to appease some political families in Kashmir in a false hope and said it was counter-productive.
"Delhi was only appeasing a particular family thinking that welfare of that particular family will lead to the welfare of the state. They thought that catering to the undue and unethical demands of that family will lead to a solution for Kashmir. With the same mindset, no political party was allowed to flourish there and national politics could not be carried out. Only those political parties who nurture separatism were strengthened. The separatism was strengthened and Delhi became weaker," he said.
He said separatist forces gained ground and Kashmir Pandits were attacked, their houses burnt and atrocities committed on women.
"During Congress rule, four lakh Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave, their homes were burnt, daughters raped and people were killed. The government sitting in Delhi kept its eyes closed and kept giving false assurances," he said.
"You have not made me Prime Minister to keep my eyes closed. You have not made me Prime Minister for leisure. I do not live for the chair, I live for the country, I live for you," he added.
Modi said Congress had promised to abrogate Article 370 within a year in 1964 after the issue came up in Parliament.
"But Congress did nothing and has deceived the parliamentarians. They said Article 370 is a temporary measure which will become ineffective automatically over the time but that never happened," Modi said.
He said separatists and terrorists had destroyed the "Sufi culture" of Kashmir while the successive Congress government did not take effective steps to counter it.
"The Sufi culture of the Kashmir represented unity where people belonging to all sections and religions lived together peacefully. But separatists and terrorists systematically destroyed it and Congress government did nothing except appeasing a family," Modi said.
He said that BJP government has strengthened the armed forces after coming to power.
"After coming to power we started mission to strengthen our forces. Today, advanced submarines, advanced fighter aircraft like Rafale, they are part of our forces," he said.
He accused Congress of trying to sideline the indigenous programme concerning Tejas jets and said the aircraft is ready to serve Air Force and Navy.
Voting will take place to 90-member Haryana assembly on October 21. (ANI)