Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Apr 28: BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today launched a scathing attack on Abdullah family of Jammu and Kashmir charging them with ruining the State and driving Kashmiri Pandits away from their houses in the Kashmir Valley only because of their religion. He charged Abdullahs with causing most harm to secularism.
Modi, who had so far been maintaining silence on his repeated criticism by National Conference president and Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah and his Chief Minister son Omar Abdullah, today launched a full-fledged attack on Abdullah family through a series of tweets, which were repeated in a televised message.
“Instead of telling those voting for Modi to drown, Dr Abdullah should look at himself and his family in the mirror and see how they ruined Jammu and Kashmir. Dr Abdullah’s recent statements were hilarious. He showcased his ignorance and tried to hide how his family has ruined Jammu and Kashmir,” Modi wrote on micro blogging site twitter, a day after Farooq Abdullah said at a rally in Srinagar that those, who had voted for Modi should jump into sea.
“Due to communal politics of Dr Abdullah’s family, Kashmiri Pandits were removed from their homes only due to their religion. Is this secularism”? the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate asked and went on to say that just for the sake of politics, Dr Abdullah’s family has communalized Jammu and Kashmir, which is a land of Sufism and harmony.
Addressing Dr Abdullah, Modi said: “in the history of our glorious culture, if there is someone, who has done most harm to secularism it is you and your family. We are secular not because the word was added in our Constitution. Secularism is in our blood. We believe in Sarva Pantha Sambhava”.
Asserting that his path is the path of good governance and development, Modi said: “irresponsible statements by the likes of Dr Abdullah can’t derail India’s mission”.
Dr Abdullah had said a day ago that if Modi is voted to power J& K will no longer be with India. Referring to BJP leader Giriraj Singh’s recent statement, Dr Abdullah had said: “they say those who do not vote for Modi should go to Pakistan. (I say) those who vote for Modi should drown in the sea.”
Modi said Farooq Abdullah has no moral right to preach against communalism as policies of his father late Sheikh Abdullah, him and his son and Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were responsible for communalising the politics in Jammu and Kashmir.
“If somebody has to drown then you should look at your (Dr Abdullah’s) face in mirror. Put your father’s face in front of mirror and ask this question. Those who have chased Kashmiri Pandits out have no face to preach against communalism,” he said.
Invoking India’s age-old tradition of secularism and syncretism, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, accused by critics of practicing Hindutva politics, said these high values are the best policies for India and it is his commitment to “take everybody along and develop all”.
“I want to tell Farooq Abdullah that the thousands of years-old great tradition of secularism in India suffered its biggest and deepest blow in Kashmir. And this happened due to the politics of your father, due to your politics and due to your son’s politics.
“Kashmir is the only place in this country where Pandits were evicted due to their religion. Kashmir was the land of sufi traditions… And it has been tarred with communal colour by you for selfish interests,” Modi said.
Apparently referring to controversial statements, many by his aides, during the current campaign, he said Indian secularism is not so poor as to be affected adversely by some comments.
“Country is not going to deviate from its values of `Jai Jagat (victory to world) and Vasudaiv Kutumbakam (world is a family),” he said.
Modi didn’t spare West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee either.
In his tweets, Modi said the people of Bengal have understood that Congress, Left and Trinamool are all one. “Their misgovernance has ruined West Bengal. NDA will bring an end to this,” he said.
Invoking Netaji Subash Chander Bose, the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate quoted his (Netaji’s) famous words: “give me blood, I will give you freedom” to call upon the people of West Bengal: “give us support, we will give you Surajya (good governance)”.
Charging Mamata Banerjee with playing vote bank politics over Bangladeshi nationals, Modi said while the people from Bihar, Odisha and Marwaris were not welcome for Mamata Didi, those from Bangladesh are. He declared that NDA would hold total investigations into Shardha Chit Fund Scam.
PTI adds from New Delhi: BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman also attacked Abdullah for his comments.
“Very clearly, Dr Abdullah first answer as to why in J&K the Constitutional Amendment which was made in India during Emergency making India into a secular republic, is not acceptable to him there,” Sitharaman said.
She asked him why the National Conference, of which he is president, has not worked to make that amendment into the J&K Constitution till today.
“If that is not done, I think he should refrain from talking about communalism. They have not even taken a step to take back the Kashmiri Pandits, who have been cleansed out of the Valley, back into the Valley,” she said.
Another senior BJP leader Aru Jaitley also flayed National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah’s statement that those voting for Narendra Modi should drown in the sea.
“This demonstrates Abdullah’s contempt for the majority opinion. Farooq Sahib believes and rightly so that India is secular and will not accept communal politics. Where is it that secularism in India has seen the single greatest failure?…
“The single greatest failure of secularism in India is within Farooq Sahib’s own State of Kashmir. If India has witnessed an ethnic cleansing by having one community of the State, namely, the Kashmiri Pandits ejected out of the State, it has only happened in Kashmir,” he said.
The BJP leader said he was glad that Abdullah says that Kashmir will not accept communal politics. “But will Kashmir offer the red carpet back for the resettlement of the Kashmiri Pandits,” he asked.
Jaitley said nobody needs to jump into the sea if Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister of India “but if Farooq Sahib and his party are silent spectators, when the Kashmiri Pandits cannot go back home he should, as a gesture of repentance, at least take a dip in the Dal Lake.”
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