On Thursday, the Congress attacked the BJP over the purported exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Shopian district of south Kashmir and demanded that the Modi administration publish a white paper on the struggles of the minority group during its eight-year rule.
The opposition party also criticised the BJP-led government in the national capital over the deliberate killings of Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir and demanded an apology from it.
Residents claim that ten Kashmiri Pandit families fled their village of Choudharygund in Shopian, Kashmir, out of fear as terrorists recently carried out a number of targeted killings, and they arrived in Jammu.
Minority community members who have been camping in Jammu since then have ruled out any plans to go back to the Valley.
Authorities in Shopian have tried to put on a brave face by asserting that there hasn’t been a migration of Kashmiri Pandits out of the district.
At a press conference held at the AICC headquarters in this city, the head of the Congress’ media department, Pawan Khera, noted that the BJP had supported V P Singh’s government at the time of the first migration of Kashmiri Pandits in 1989.
When the first riot against Kashmiri Pandits broke out in 1986, Rajiv Gandhi’s administration was in charge at the federal level. Rajiv Gandhi heard the Kashmiri Pandits as they made their way from the national stadium to his office, and as a result, Ghulam Mohammad Shah’s administration was overthrown, according to Khera.
He asserted that although the BJP only talks about zero tolerance, Rajiv Gandhi had actually demonstrated what it meant.
Attacking the Center, Khera claimed that 70 government ministers were conducting an outreach programme in Kashmir and questioned whether any of them had visited a camp for Kashmiri Pandits.
What good is this outreach if you can’t even reach out to the Kashmiri Pandits who reside in those camps, he questioned.
The Congressman also claimed that Kashmiri Pandit workers are being “threatened” into reporting to work against their will, citing an order.
He asserted that between January and October of this year, there had been 30 targeted killings of Kashmiri Pandits.
“We demand that the Modi administration publish a white paper on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. All of the eight-year-old government’s accomplishments and failures should be detailed in that white paper, according to Khera.
“You (the government) will have to give an explanation for the 80 murders.” Answer this: How is this normal, he continued.
When questioned about the article by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju titled “75th Anniversary of Five Nehruvian Blunders on Kashmir,” Khera advised BJP leaders who are “WhatsApp nursery” students to review their history lessons.
If everything they are saying is true, how come targeted killings ceased during the Manmohan Singh administration and 75% of the population participated in the state’s democratic election process? We would be pleased to learn the response,” he said.
He claimed that the BJP leaders are ignorant of the nation’s recent history.
It is very simple to hold Jawaharlal Nehru responsible for this, Indira Gandhi for another, PV Narasimha Rao for another, and Manmohan Singh for the remaining issues. said Khera.
Give us responses. Eight years have passed since you took office. What accomplishments did you make during those years in Jammu and Kashmir? There can be no elections. Pandits from Kashmir cannot be protected. Is that what you accomplished? Attacking the BJP-led Centre, he said, “You must apologise for what happened in 1989 and for what is happening now.
On October 15, terrorists opened fire on Kashmiri Pandit Puran Krishan Bhat in front of his ancestral home in the Shopian village of Choudharygund.
Monish Kumar and Ram Sagar perished on October 18 when terrorists attacked their rented home in Shopian with a grenade while they were dozing off.
