'India Ready for Dialogue with Pakistan, But Terrorism Must Stop': Rajnath Singh In J&K

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said India is ready to embrace Pakistan and start a process of dialogue with it provided the neighbouring country gives a guarantee that it will stop promoting terrorism on Indian soil.

Singh accused the Congress, National Conference (NC) and People's Democratic Party (PDP) of working as "proxies of Pakistan" and said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not allow anyone to run the "impure agenda" of Islamabad in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing poll rallies at Kotranka and Sunderbani in support of BJP candidates Choudhary Zulfikar Ali (fielded from the Budhal Assembly segment) and Thakur Randhir Singh (nominated from the Kalakote-Sunderbani seat) in this border district, Singh said Hindu-Muslim unity is imperative for the country's progress.

"They (NC and PDP) are advocating dialogue with Pakistan, a country that is aiding and abetting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. Terrorism and dialogue cannot go on together but if Pakistan gives a guarantee that it will stop promoting terrorism on Indian soil, we are ready to embrace it and start talks," he said.

The defence minister said Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has consumed thousands of lives in Jammu and Kashmir, with 80 per cent of its victims being Muslims.

Referring to the reported remarks of Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif that his country and the NC-Congress alliance are on the same page on the restoration of Article 370 of the Constitution, he said a poverty-ridden Pakistan is interfering in India's internal affairs.

"The graceless and shameless statement of the Pakistani leader amounts to interference in our internal affairs. Pakistan has become an international brand of poverty and destitution. It is unable to handle its own affairs but is worried about India's internal matters," Singh said.

He said Pakistan has the habit of moving around with a begging bowl and is presently seeking an assistance of USD 7 billion, which is less than the package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Jammu and Kashmir, from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The one doing business in snakes (terrorism) ends up harming himself," he said.

"Be assured that terrorism will be wiped out from Jammu and Kashmir," the defence minister said, adding that the Union Territory has suffered a lot due to terror activities for three decades and the BJP is ready to make a "new Jammu and Kashmir", without allowing anyone to push it backwards.

Lashing out at the Congress, NC and PDP, Singh said any Indian is welcome to do politics based on the issues facing the country, instead of working as a "proxy of Pakistan".

"These are the people who raised the same questions as those of Pakistan on the Pulwama terror attack and demanded proof of surgical strikes, airstrikes and (the) Galwan (clash in Ladakh). All these things clearly show that the NC, Congress and PDP are trying to run a Pakistani agenda, but I want to tell the people here as well those across the border that the impure Pakistani agenda will not be allowed to run in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to the United States, the defence minister accused the Congress leader of defaming India on foreign soil. "The Congress should be given a befitting reply in this election," he added.

After the provisions of Article 370 were abrogated in August 2019, the government got an opportunity to rebuild Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said, adding, "No power can restore it again."

He questioned the poll manifestoes of the NC, Congress and PDP that talk about restoration of statehood in Jammu and Kashmir and said, "The prime minister has already promised that statehood will be restored. These parties are misleading people on the issue."

Singh accused the opposition of dividing the country in the name of religion and said, "We cannot achieve progress without unity among Hindus and Muslims. We can only make a country's head high when we move together."

The veteran leader asserted that no power can stop the BJP from forming its government in Jammu and Kashmir after the conclusion of the ongoing Assembly polls in the Union Territory.

"Everyone in Jammu and Kashmir accepts that the Modi government has ensured the region's development, something that no other government has done before. The situation has improved considerably, which is evident from the fact that polls are being held in a free and fair manner and people have reposed their faith in democracy by exercising their franchise in large numbers," he said.

Singh said Pakistani refugees and members of the Valmiki Samaj are going to vote in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls for the first time in seven decades, which was made possible by the BJP-led government by ensuring justice with the deprived population, including the Scheduled Tribes (STs) who were provided reservation in the Assembly.

He said a network of roads is being laid by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to improve connectivity and there has not been a single incident of stone-pelting since 2022.

"Those who ruled earlier used Jammu and Kashmir as an ATM to take away money, but we provided 40,000 jobs to youngsters (in government departments) and created 5.3 lakh jobs through self-employment," the BJP leader said.