SRINAGAR: Hitting out at the central government, former Congress Chief and MP Rahul Gandhi took a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the “targetted killings” in Kashmir, and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government for destroying the “good work done by the UPA” in the past.
Currently, on ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, the Gandhi scion taking to Twitter said that this year, as many as 30 targetted killings took place in Kashmir. “The exodus of Pandits is increasing rapidly,” his post read.
“The PM who spoke [about] big things before starting to rule is now enjoying his ‘power’, while Kashmiri Pandits remain refugees in their own country,” Gandhi tweeted.
Rahul’s tweet came shortly after Congress demanded that the BJP led government release a white paper on the plight of the minority community during its eight-year rule in the Union territory.
Earlier at a presser, Congress’ media head Pawan Khera criticised the saffron camp for only talking about zero tolerance, adding that its true meaning was exhibited by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Khera alleged that Kashmiri Pandit employees are being “threatened” to return to work in the Valley against their wishes.
The grand old party posted a short video of Khera on Twitter as well, in which the Congress leader says that if the target killings of 30 Kashmiri Pandits in the past 10 months along with the rapid exodus of them is “normal” to the BJP then they need to “open their eyes”.
“In a place like Shopian district where for 32 years, Kashmiri Pandits have been residing and never fled, are now compelled to leave. As many as 15 families fled the area during this Diwali,” Khera said in the video.
He claimed that 70 ministers of the BJP government are carrying out outreach programmes in various regions of Kashmir, but not one of them has the courage to visit the camps of Kashmiri Pandits.
The Congress party’s demands come in the wake of recent media reports that “several Kashmiri Pandit families have left their village in Shopian out of fear and reached Jammu” owing to recent multiple attacks.
