Congress Questions Why Jammu and Kashmir’s Statehood Was Revoked if It Was to Be Restored
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari criticized the BJP government on Saturday over its approach to restoring Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood.
Tiwari questioned, “If the intention was to restore full statehood, why was it revoked in the first place after over fifty years?” His remarks were in response to Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement about reinstating statehood at an “appropriate time.”
He accused the BJP of exacerbating the state’s economic and security challenges and questioned the timing of elections without the return of full statehood. “Now, even an elected government will be just a puppet of the BJP,” he said, drawing a comparison to the situations in Delhi and Puducherry.
Tiwari also criticized the BJP for neglecting Jammu, stating, “Now even Jammu is facing problems, whereas previously only Kashmir was troubled by terrorism.”
In addition, the Congress MP responded to BJP’s claims about a “conspiracy” related to wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joining Congress ahead of the elections. He pointed out that the BJP had failed to support the wrestlers during their protests and recalled that Phogat had written to BJP leaders without receiving a response.
Tiwari asked, “When a gold medal-winning wrestler was mistreated by the police, why did BJP leaders not intervene?”
He also raised concerns about law and order in Uttar Pradesh, particularly questioning the handling of a recent encounter in Sultanpur where a businessman alleged that his gold and silver were stolen. “Where is the looted gold?” Tiwari asked, suggesting possible corruption and mishandling of the situation.
