Sanjeev Pargal
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said today that the plan of action and its time on taking back Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) can’t be discussed openly as it is a security related matter and declared that Pakistan can’t be allowed to spread terrorism within the Indian boundaries.
Reiterating that India will have National Register of Citizens (NRC), Shah said Rohingyas too will have to go back, adding that they have many options including going to Bangladesh but that country was too worried about the illegal immigrants now.
Speaking at the Republic TV Summit, the Home Minister in response to a question on taking back PoK from Pakistan said: “Plan of action and its time-I don’t believe it should be openly discussed-as they’re matters of security. At the right time, like Article 370, it should be executed”.
Shah said if Pakistan wants peace with India it would have to end terrorism.
“India’s response is determined by Pakistan’s action. If they want peace, they will have to end terrorism. Pakistan won’t be allowed to spread terrorism within the Indian boundaries. We will take all measures to end terrorism,” he added.
Charging Pakistan with misguiding the youth of Kashmir, arming them and propagating terrorism, the Home Minister maintained that it was impossible to defeat terrorism without abrogating Article 370 as Pakistan continued to campaign that Kashmir wasn’t integral part of India.
“Pakistan had tried to spread terrorism in the entire country but they got no success except Kashmir as Articles 370 and 35-A had sown the seeds of separatism. Pakistan misled the youth of Kashmir and introduced terrorism. A beginning has now been made to finish the terror,” Shah said.
The Union Home Minister, who had introduced the bills in Parliament for scrapping of special Constitutional provisions of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the erstwhile State into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh on August 5, said stone pelting incidents post August decisions have gone down in Kashmir by 40 to 45 percent.
He challenged the supporters of Article 370 to come before media and give just one logic as to why this Article was necessary.
“The country had been talking on Article 370 for 70 years. It was our resolve to abrogate it for a very long time. Since the days of Jana Sangh, it remained a prime agenda that we will remove Article 370. Two Constitutions can’t exist parallel. When we didn’t have the numbers we couldn’t abrogate it but once, we got the numbers, we did it,” Shah said.
He said the decision to abrogate Article 370 was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his responsibility was to execute the abrogation.
In another significant statement, the Home Minister described number of security personnel deployed in Kashmir similar to the one what it was in 1990 (when the militancy had started in the Valley).
“Even today, the same numbers of security forces are deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, who have been stationed there since 1990. The additional security forces deployed there have been removed,” he said.
Shah reiterated that the NRC will be introduced in the entire country.
On Rohingyas, who have also been settled in large numbers in Jammu, the Home Minister said the Rohingyas have many options.
“Rohingyas can go to Bangladesh, but that country is also worried about their influx. No country allows refugees to settle like this. The countries are not run this way. Now time has come to have NRC,” the Home Minister said.
Referring to his strong reaction in Parliament while presenting bills on Jammu and Kashmir in the last session, the Home Minister said his aggression was not against any one person or party but against the mismanagement of the security situation in the country.
“It is natural that the Home Minister of the country would react to such things strongly when the Opposition questions the locus-standi of Parliament to make laws on this subject,” he said.
The Home Minister said Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian refugees coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh because of religious persecution would be given Indian citizenship.
He said these three are Muslim countries and people of other religions have been facing religious persecution there.
These refugees take shelter in India to escape the situation, hence, they cannot be considered as illegal immigrants, Shah said.
Taking such refugees into India’s fold has been done in the country in the past by different Governments as well, e.g., for refugees coming from Uganda and Sri Lanka, he said.
Shah said the Ram Mandir issue had stalled for many decades and political parties have used it for their vote bank politics.
He said the Supreme Court has given an impartial judgment on the issue based on facts and not religious beliefs or faith and that has been welcomed by all religious beliefs and communities across the country, including the Muslims.
Shah said the Government would abide by the Supreme Court order and even one day more than the allocated 90 days would not be taken to comply with the order.
On the triple talaq issue, he said India has a rich culture and tradition to engage in debate and discussion on any issue based on facts and figures.

Courtesy: Daily Excelsior:  28th November, 2019