Amit Shah blames Congress for 'Kashmir problem', says NDA will bring situation under control

Chandigarh: BJP president Amit Shah said the ‘Kashmir problem’ emerged because of Congress, expressing confidence that Narendra Modi-led NDA government will soon control the present situation in the Valley. [caption id=“attachment_3431582” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Amit Shah. Reuters[/caption] “What else Congress can say. Kashmir problem emerged because of Congress,” Shah said while addressing media. He was asked to respond to the Congress allegations, which had reportedly accused NDA government of failing to control the situation in Kashmir. Concerned over the “disturbed” situation in the Valley, the Congress had formulated a policy-planning group for Jammu and Kashmir on 19 April, to take forward the peace initiative in the state. The policy-planning group is chaired by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and includes former home minister P Chidambaram and CWC members Karan Singh and Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides the Jammu and Kashmir Congress in charge Ambika Soni. The Congress has been critical of the Centre as well as the PDP-BJP coalition government over the handling of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir since July 2016. When asked about Kashmiri students indulging in stone pelting at the security personnel, Shah said such situations had emerged in the past as well. “Kashmir faced such situations several times since 1989 (since onset of militancy in the state). It is not for the first time that such a situation had erupted and these situations were controlled. Whenever security agencies adopted a tough stand, such situations arose. I am confident that this situation will soon be controlled,” he said. Praising the three-year old regime of Modi government at the Centre, he said the NDA government has worked for the upliftment of poor, downtrodden, labourers and farmers. He said the present government at the Centre has taken a bold step like demonetisation to contain spread of black money to a large extent and boost country’s economy. Welcoming the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order, which stayed the execution of former Naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, he termed it as “a very big achievement” for the government. Earlier, a large number of BJP workers and supporters accorded a grand welcome to Amit Shah at the airport and organised a roadshow, while escorting him to the party office in the city. The BJP chief is on a 110-day country-wide tour, which began in Jammu last month. His tour will be in two phases– 95 days and 15 days. With an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Shah is travelling across states to strategise and find ways to strengthen the party at the grass-root level. Shah was received by Chandigarh BJP president Sanjay Tandon, the party’s local MP Kirron Kher and others. “Chandigarh is the fourth place on Shah’s itinerary for the 95-day tour which began with his visit to Jammu on 29 April. The BJP chief has also visited Himachal Pradesh and Tripura,” Tandon said.