Declare Cong will restore 370, Shah dares Rahul

Navapur (Maharashtra), Oct 19

On the last day of the campaigning for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on Saturday, Union Home Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah dared Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to declare that his party will restore provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir if voted to power.

Addressing a rally in Maharashtra’s tribal Nandurbar district, Shah said after Narendra Modi won the second term with a massive mandate in May this year, the first thing he did was to abrogate provisions of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

“Due to the special provisions, Pakistan fomented terror in the state and over 40,000 people died. Development in Kashmir came to a standstill. But the Congress was not ready to scrap the provisions. It was worried about its votebank and not about the national interest.

“No PM ever dared to take the decision. It was Modi with his 56-inch chest who made the move,” he said.

“Rahul asks what is the connection between Article 370 and Maharashtra. I dare him to declare that if voted to power, his party would restore the provisions of Article 370. There is still one day to go for the Assembly elections. See how the people will react. Don’t you want Kashmir to be an integral part of India?” he asked.

Shah said Nandurbar has been included among the 115 districts under the Modi government’s tribal development policy. “In the next five years, Nandurbar will be developed as a premier tribal district in the country and Maharashtra as the number one state,” he asserted.

The minister listed the development works being undertaken by the state government and the Centre for tribal welfare.  Shah accused the Congress of using 'adivasis' (tribals) only for votes and never working for their development. 

The Union Home Minister  also alleged that the Congress did not do anything for the welfare of Other Backward Classes 

(OBC) in 55 years and said it was the Modi government which gave constitutional status to the OBC Commission. — PTI 

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