STATE TIMES NEWS
KATHUA: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said here on Friday that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi because Modi enabled him to play with snowballs in Kashmir valley and indulge in leisure games at picturesque locales.
Addressing a large BJP public rally here today, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, everytime one comes across visual s of Rahul Gandhi in Kashmir valley, it is heartening to see that he is thoroughly enjoying himself, which is quite in contrast with the times when his Party ruled at the Centre and also in alliance with the then State of Jammu & Kashmir. He said, at that time, Rahul Gandhi could not move out of his security cover and had to remain confined within the walls of his small chamber along with his sister and other members of the family, which is a fact testified by none less than the then Congress Union Home Minister Sushil Shinde.
Amid applause from audience, Dr. Jitendra said, each time Rahul Gandhi plays with snowballs with his sister Priyanka or goes for a stroll at Lal Chowk or makes an impromptu evening visit to a restaurant at Residency Road, he does not realise that he is inadvertently endorsing Prime Minister Modi’s success in handling the situation in Kashmir and restoring a compatible, friendly environment for such playful indulgences in public.
Mocking the Congress and National Conference alliance in the ongoing J&K Assembly election, Dr. Jitendra said, it was a marriage of convenience but the cracks have started appearing even before the marriage could be solemnised. He said, even Omar Abdullah, the coalition partner of Rahul Gandhi is feeling disillusioned and disgusted with the latter and is constrained to say through the media that Rahul should be advised to concentrate on campaigning for the Congress candidates in Jammu region instead of spending time in Kashmir valley. In other words, this amounts to saying that the Congress leader is inclined to holiday in the pleasant climes of Kashmir valley even when the Party candidates are facing the heat of BJP challenge in the Jammu region.
Dr. Singh said, there is no challenge to BJP from the Congress and its alliance because it is nothing new and has existed for several years without causing any dent, though for each election they change the name of the alliance .
He recalled that during the 2014 election also, Congress and NC had put up common candidates who lost with a decisive margin. After the defeat, he recalled, when they set out to fight the next election in 2019, they changed the name of the alliance to UPA. However, after losing the 2019 election, when they went for 2024 election, they changed the name to INDI, he added. Amid a big round of applause and clapping from the audience, Dr. Jitendra said, “please remember by words, after they are shaken by the defeat in these elections, they will change the name of the alliance from INDI to some other name, which could be “ABC”, “XYZ” or any of that sort”. It is just like trying to sell the same product in the market in different packets each time after the marketing strategy fails, he said.
Calling upon the people of Kathua to vote for BJP, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, this is a land of Syama Prasad Mookerjee and is known to have withstood repeated assaults from the enemies of nation and is also capable of thwarting the designs of anti national forces.
The victory of BJP from here, he said, will send out a message across the country that those who talk of bringing back Article 370 and 35A have been rejected once and all by the people of Kathua through the power of ballet.