In a no holds barred attack on political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Amit Shah levelled serious allegations on them including getting “foreign forces to intervene” in the issue of scrapping of Article 370.
He also accused the leaders of taking away rights of women and Dalits and bringing back “terror and turmoil” in the Union Territory. Putting out a series of tweets, Shah also attacked Congress, a signatory of the Gupkar Declaration, asking the party leadership to clarify its position on the issue.
The Gupkar Gang is going global! They want foreign forces to intervene in Jammu and Kashmir. The Gupkar Gang also insults India’s Tricolour. Do Sonia Ji and Rahul Ji support such moves of the Gupkar Gang ? They should make their stand crystal clear to the people of India.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 17, 2020
“Congress and the Gupkar Gang want to take J&K back to the era of terror and turmoil. They want to take away rights of Dalits, women and tribals that we have ensured by removing Article 370. This is why they’re being rejected by the people everywhere,” Shah tweeted.
Political leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, including former Chief Minister and National Conference veteran Farooq Abdullah, his arch-rival and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and Sajjad Lone, came together to fight for the restoration of Article 370 and a resolution to Kashmir and signed the ‘Gupkar Declaration’. Congress too became a signatory.
The right-wing, which has dubbed it as an ‘unholy alliance’, uses the ‘Guptkar Gang’ slur to describe the alliance.
Congress and the Gupkar Gang want to take J&K back to the era of terror and turmoil. They want to take away rights of Dalits, women and tribals that we have ensured by removing Article 370. This is why they’re being rejected by the people everywhere.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 17, 2020
“Jammu and Kashmir has been, is and will always remain an integral part of India. Indian people will no longer tolerate an unholy ‘global gathbandhan’ against our national interest. Either the Gupkar Gang swims along with the national mood or else the people will sink it,” Shah said in another tweet targeting the Gupkar Alliance.
Shah’s tweets on the Alliance and the Congress come close on the heels of pointed attacks on the Alliance by other BJP leaders in the run up to the upcoming District Development Council (DDC) elections slated for December.
Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also slammed the Alliance on Monday and said, “People who have been Chief Ministers are saying that they’ll take help of China for the restoration of Article 370. It is an anti-national activity”. He was referring to controversial comments made earlier by Gupkar Alliance chairperson Farooq Abdullah.
Mehbooba Mufti meanwhile hit back immediately a round of tweets and accused BJP of using “euphemism” and “stale tactic”.
Old habits die hard. Earlier BJPs narrative was that the tukde tukde gang threatened India’s sovereignty & they are now using ‘Gupkar Gang’ euphemism to project us as anti nationals. Irony died a million deaths since its BJP itself that violates the constitution day in & day out https://t.co/LoODFZuPmd
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 17, 2020
“Fighting elections in an alliance is also anti-national now. BJP can stitch as many alliances in its hunger for power but somehow we are undermining national interest by putting up a united front. BJPs stale tactic of dividing India by projecting themselves as saviours and political opponents as internal and imagined enemies is far too predictable now. Love jihad, tukde tukde and now Gupkar Gang dominates the political discourse instead of like rising unemployment & inflation,” she said in her tweets.
National Conference chief Omar Abdullah pointed to the “frustration” of the minister at the J&K alliance’s decision to contest elections.
We are not a “gang” Amit Shah ji, we are a legitimate political alliance having fought & continuing to fight elections, much to your disappointment.
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 17, 2020
Amit Shah’s tweets found support from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who sharpened the attack on Congress for being a part of this Alliance.
Well said, @AmitShah ji. The @INCIndia has increasingly found comfort in the ‘break-India’(‘tukde-tukde’) naxal groups. They have exposed their continuing tendency to associate with forces which seek external help to upset India. People of India seek an answer from @INCIndia. https://t.co/Erld9JFRey
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) November 17, 2020
Congress is yet to put out any official statement on the charges till the time of filing this report.
