Veteran Congress leader and former Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has recently admitted to a deep-seated fear of visiting Jammu and Kashmir during his tenure.
Veteran Congress leader and former Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has recently admitted to a deep-seated fear of visiting Jammu and Kashmir during his tenure. His candid confession, made at a book launch event, has ignited a political firestorm, with reactions pouring in from all sides.
During his tenure as Home Minister, Shinde, known for his formidable political presence, disclosed that he had been deeply apprehensive about visiting Kashmir. UPA-era Home Minister recounted, “When I was Home Minister, before I went to Srinagar, I used to consult Vijay Dhar. He advised me to avoid wandering around and instead, go to Lal Chowk to deliver a speech, meet some people, and take a stroll on Dal Lake. That advice gave me considerable publicity and conveyed to people that here was a Home Minister who ventured out fearlessly. But my @#$%@ (offensive term) was, who should I tell?”
BIG statement by UPA era Home Minister Sushil Shinde
"They told me to go Kashmir and do Photo-op at Dal lake for me and UPA's Public image as Home Minister of India
But whom to tell I was (SCARED)"
And Now Rahul Gandhi was comfortably seen doing Bharat Jodo Yatra in Kasmir! pic.twitter.com/sW8HSQ2oAw
Shinde's admission, which was made in the presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge at the launch of his book, has set off a whirlwind of political debate. The BJP has seized upon Shinde’s statement, using it as ammunition to highlight what they see as the failures of the Congress-led UPA government in addressing the Kashmir issue.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla sharply responded, saying, “Shinde's remarks are proof of what the situation in the valley was before the abrogation of Article 370. Congress should take note of the changes. Terrorism and separatism have been significantly curtailed. Today, the tricolor waves from the Red Fort to Lal Chowk. There is a continuous decline in terrorism and stone-pelting incidents. Casualities of civilians and security forces have significantly dropped. Where once terrorists used to fire bullets, Sachin Tendulkar now plays cricket.”
"Earlier there was a politics of PPP (Pakistan Paristhi, Parivarwaadi or Pathharbazi) which was promoted by Congress in the valley. Today it has ended...Today, there is a politics of DDD (Development, dialogue and decentralisation). Jammu & Kashmir has now become a tourism hotspot and not terrorism hotspot," Poonawalla added.
UPA era Home Minister Sushil Shinde admits he was scared of going to J&K
“They told me to go Kashmir and do Photo-op at Dal lake for me and UPA's Public image as Home Minister of India. But I was scared"
Today Rahul Gandhi was comfortably seen doing Bharat Jodo Yatra & snow… pic.twitter.com/ly4Nx1bLQQ
Poonawalla went on to further say, "There has been a change in the environment in Jammu and Kashmir. That is why when today Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra visit the valley they throw snowballs at each other and don't have to face hand grenades. But Congress wants to stop this Parivartan..."
Since the abrogation of Article 370, significant changes have occurred in Kashmir. Incidents of stone-pelting have drastically reduced, from 5,063 reported cases between 2015 and 2019, to just 434 between 2019 and 2023. S
imilarly, the number of terrorists eliminated has remained high, with 675 insurgents neutralized in the last four years compared to 740 in the previous four. Additionally, while 379 security personnel were martyred from 2015 to 2019, the number has decreased to 146 in the following period.