We’ll Hit Streets if J&K’s Statehood Is Not Restored After Elections: Rahul Gandhi
Srinagar: Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, on Wednesday said that the I.N.D.I.A alliance will take to the streets across the country to demand justice for the people of Jammu and Kashmir if the Centre does not restore its statehood after the Assembly elections are over.
While speaking at a series of elections rallies in the Union Territory, Mr. Gandhi reiterated it was for the first time in the history of independent India that a state was bifurcated into two Union territories and with that the democratic and other rights of its people were snatched too.
He said that the I.N.D.I.A. alliance will build pressure on the Narendra Modi government to restore its statehood. “They have to give it (statehood) after the elections. We will build pressure on them. If they don’t listen, we will step in the well of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and also take to the streets across the country if warranted,” he said. He added, “If it is still not returned, the I.N.D.I.A. alliance will do it when it forms a government at the Centre.
At Sopore, often referred to as the apple town of Kashmir, he said that it was imperative to restore the statehood of J&K also to see the local horticulture produce reach the markets across the globe. “We have to take this apple grown in Sopore to the United States, Japan, China and other countries of the world. It is a product of your hard work, and your future lies in reaching the global market. American apples are being eaten in India. Now the apple the Americans should relish has to be the Sopore apple, the apple produced in J&K.
The Congress leader claimed the apples and other fresh fruits produced in J&K and Himachal Pradesh do not fetch attractive prices because of (Gautam) Adani and the ilk who have monopolised trade in the country. “Modi waived off the loans of his 25 billionaire friends amounting to ₹ 16 lakh crores. His government has been helping a few billionaires in having control over businesses. The demonetisation, flawed GST and other misplaced decisions and policies have ruined the small and medium businesses and industries,” he said. He added, “Prime Minister Modi is bragging much on ‘Make in India’ slogan but Adani and Ambani’s tags are being fixed on Israeli made weapons.
He promised to set up apple cold storages and processing plants across the Kashmir Valley including Sopore if the Congress-National Conference combine is voted to power in J&K. He also committed the future government of the alliance partners to making Punjabi an official language, a speedy implementation of the ambitious plan of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for rehabilitation of displaced Kashmiri Pandits and several tax credits, grants, and loan programmes and other economic incentives.
