New Delhi, (Samajweekly) National Conference MP and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents the whole of India, “and not just one colour”.
He also said that the NDA government has failed to bring any Kashmiri Pandit back to the valley.
Meanwhile in another interesting incident in Lok Sabha seen during the discussion on the no-confidence motion, Shiv Sena member Shrikant Shinde, the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, recited the Hanuman Chalisa in the House.
Abdullah, while participating in the discussion on the no-confidence motion, said that PM did not just represent one colour, and instead, represented all of India. He said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were proud to be part of India.
“But this nation has a responsibility not only to Hindus but to Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and everybody who lives in India. The Prime Minister doesn’t represent only one colour, he represents India. He represents 1.4 billion people of India, let’s not ignore that,” he said.
Abdullah also said that while everyone makes mistakes, he had tried to bring Kashmiri Pandits back home, however it did not bear the desired results. “When we tried, the forces from across the border killed innocent Kashmiri Pandits in a village. Immediately we stopped the 50 vehicles that were to bring them back home.”
He, however, questioned the Centre, asking how many Kashmiri Pandits has it brought back in the last 10 years to the valley. “How many Kashmiri Pandits have you brought back in these last 10 years? None,” Abdullah said.
Reacting to Abdullah, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said: “To say that that this government did not do anything for Kashmiri Pandits is wrong and misleading the House.”
Meanwhile Shrikant Shinde, in his speech, heavily criticised the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, saying that it has aligned with the UPA, which has a completely divergent ideology. Samajwadi Party, a constituent of the UPA, had even fired at kar sevaks during the Ayodhya agitation, Shinde said, referring to the 1990 incident when late SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Tearing into the Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction for “abandoning” Hindutva and Bal Thackeray’s ideology, he claimed that during Thackeray’s reign as Chief Minister, people were stopped from reciting Hanuman Chalisa in Maharashtra.
“I know the whole Hanuman Chalisa,” he said and started reciting it. He, however, could not complete it as the Chair asked him to continue with his speech.
