If Pakistan fires a bullet, India will respond with a mortar shell, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday. He asserted that there is no fear of cross-border firing in border areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
Addressing a campaign rally in Nowshera of Rajouri district, Shah said: “Concrete bunkers have been made in border areas like Nowshera by us, but I assure you that these bunkers are not needed now.”
“Agar woh goli chalayenge, toh hum gola chalayenge (there will be no cross-border firing from Pakistan, and if they fire a bullet, we will respond with a mortar shell),” he said.
Slamming the Congress and National Conference, he said the two parties do not want reservation for Gujjars, Bakarwals, Paharis, OBCs (Other Backward Classes), Valmiki community among others. “Rahul Gandhi said in America recently that the reservations are not needed in India as those given reservations have progressed enough and are now part of the creamy layer in the country,” he added.
Shah further said NC leader Farooq Abdullah went to Poonch and Rajouri, and told Gujjars and Bakarwals that if the Paharis got the reservation, they will cut into the Gujjar Bakarwal reservation.
“The NC and Congress governments in J&K and Delhi did not give you reservations. I promise you that after these elections, we will give Paharis reservations in promotions also so that your children do not become only collectors and district SPs in the future, but chief secretaries and DGPs as well,” he said.
He challenged NC leader Omar Abdullah and Gandhi that “even if they hang themselves upside down, they cannot snatch your reservations as long as Narendra Modi is the PM of the country”. He claimed that the NC wants to get its flag in place of the Tricolour, and that Farooq Abdullah has been telling people in the Pir Panjal region and those in Poonch and Rajouri that terrorism will spread to these places.
“The government headed by Narendra Modi will bury terrorism so deep under the earth that it can never emerge again in J&K,” he added.
The Union home minister said there can be no dialogue with Pakistan till terrorism ends completely. He assured the people that no terrorist or “stone pelter” will be released from jail.
He asserted that the NC-Congress want to change the name of Shankaracharya Hill to ‘Takht-e-Suleman’ and that of Hari Parbat Hill to ‘Koh-e-Maran’, but “since generations, it has been Shankaracharya hill and Hari Parbat Hill and it will continue to be the same for all the generations to come”.
He appealed to the voters of Nowshera to elect BJP candidate Ravinder Raina, saying, “His forceful voice is heard and taken seriously in Delhi”.
“Gandhis and Abdullahs sell terrorism from their so-called mohabbat ki dukaan, let the elections be over in J&K and their mohabbat ki dukaan will be shut forever,” he said.
He added: “Farooq Abdullah should not worry, after the elections, we will publish a white paper on terrorism which will expose those who ate biryani with the terrorists.”
Highlighting the changed security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir after BJP-led NDA came to power, Shah said there were times when even the home minister of the country could not dare go to the Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
“I assure you today, go to Lal Chowk with your grandchildren in a private vehicle and nobody will dare touch you. A cinema hall was started in Srinagar after 30 years, Muharram procession was taken out after 35 years. Janmashtami procession was taken out there after 35 years,” he said.
He added: “You have areas in Jammu region where you have good snowfall, but there is no tourist destination like Pahalgam there. I promise you two Pahalgam-like tourist destinations in the mountainous areas of the Jammu region.”
He promised to increase the limit of golden card for free health treatments from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and farmers’ assistance from Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000. He also said Modi has decided that every village with a population of 50 will now be connected through Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana.
“We have given 40,000 government jobs in the last five years, we promise to give Rs 18,000 to every eldest lady of the family each year. We will restrict the cost of LPG cylinder to Rs 500,” he said.
Shah also promised two LPG cylinders free on Raksha Bandhan every year, a metro and international airport in Jammu, a water sports facility in Ranjit Sagar dam, reduced electric tariff by 50 per cent, Rs 3,000 to college students as travel allowance, laptops and tablets to children up to higher secondary level.
“Udhampur will become a pharmaceutical hub, we will form a hill development board for speedy development of hilly areas in Jammu division,” he added.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS)