Patna: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday warned Pakistan against “repeating mistakes of 1965 and 1971” even as he asserted that the neighbouring country ran the risk of getting “dismantled” on account of flagrant violation of human rights on its soil.
Addressing a “Jan Jagran Sabha” (public awareness meet) organised by the BJP here, where senior party leaders spoke on the Narendra Modi government’s move to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, Singh said that Article 370 was a festering wound in the Constitution which “bloodied our piece of heart and the heaven on this earth – Kashmir”.
“Pakistan should not repeat the mistakes of 1965 and 1971 otherwise they should think about what will be the fate of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. If Pakistan continues to ill-treat the people of Balochistan and Sindh, it will fall on its own,” Singh said.
“We had always advocated for the abrogation of Article 370 and we fulfilled our dream after 72 years of independence. The first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had said that Article 370 was a temporary provision and would die its own death. But it stayed for 69 years. It was the leadership of Narendra Modi which brought Article 370 to an end,” added Singh.
More than three-fourths of J&K population was in favour of abrogation of Article 370, he stated.
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He also said that the terrorism that spread in Jammu and Kashmir was because of Article 370. Around 41,500 people have lost their lives after independence because of the scourge of terrorism and around 5,500 security personnel have died there in the line of duty, he added.
“The BJP had never softened its stance on Article 370, irrespective of whether it was at the helm or not. Its abrogation has proved that the party is honest and credible,” Singh maintained.
“The communal political parties accuse us of being communal. They should look within. We always practice what we preach. Our party is a unique party in the entire world which stood on its ideology and accomplished what we envisioned,” he said.
The defence minister also cautioned the neighbouring country against promoting cross-border terrorism in the wake of developments in J&K.
“Talks with Pakistan will henceforth resume only after it stops promoting terrorism. And the country must keep in mind that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and discussion can only take place about Pak-occupied Kashmir,” he added.
With inputs from ANI
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A country who made two mistakes, Rajnath think that it will not do third time. I think minister is living in fools land.