Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 18: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that the so-called Kashmir issue is a political “myth” created by Congress, National Conference (NC) and other such political groups which have a vested interest in Kashmir’s electoral vote bank.
In a post – campaign interaction this morning, Dr Jitendra Singh emphatically stated that Jammu & Kashmir is very much like any other State of the Indian union and therefore, in the dominion of Indian Republic, it has the same status as any other State like, for example, Punjab or Andhra Pradesh or Meghalaya. He said, there is no such issue as “Kashmir issue” and the political leaders who try to rake it up have, in fact, a deep rooted selfish interest in creating an issue out of non-issue, in order to hoodwink the innocent masses of Kashmir.
Recalling that the Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh was exactly the same as signed by the Heads of other Princely States of India at the time of independence, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the biggest evidence of hypocrisy on the part of the Kashmir-centric leaders is that they underplay the fact that even though Jammu & Kashmir has a separate constitution of its own, the Constitution Book of Jammu & Kashmir itself states that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India. Over a period of time, he said, there has been a deliberate attempt to develop a narrative based on so – called “Kashmir issue” because it suits certain political leaders for their electoral benefits and suits some so – called intellectuals to achieve misplaced recognition as Kashmir experts.
It is an irony, said Dr Jitendra Singh, that the National Conference patriarch Sheikh Abdullah unconditionally accepted Jammu & Kashmir as an integral part of India as long as he was in power and even approved the extension of the various provisions of Indian Constitution to the State of Jammu & Kashmir, but whenever he was out of power, he would speak of plebiscite, referendum, etc. The same trend, he said, was carried forward by later two generations of National Conference who managed to seek political dividends from this stark duplicity.
However, now, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the third generation of Kashmiris born post -1990 have outgrown this manufactured myth and particularly the aspirant youth of Kashmir, including those from terror affected districts, sometimes seem to be taking a lead over their counterparts in the rest of the country when we see their outstanding performance in prestigious All India Entrance Exams like Civil Services Exam (CSE), IIT-JEE Exam and NEET exam.
Reiterating that if at all there is any issue pertaining to Jammu & Kashmir, it is only that of retrieving the territory of the State which continues to be under illegal occupation of Pakistan even after 70 years, Dr Jitendra Singh said, this is not only the BJP stand but a stand unanimously taken by all the political parties through a Parliament resolution of 1994.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
