NEW DELHI : The Congress party, on Monday, blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. In a series of tweets, Kerala Congress alleged that the BJP supported the VP Singh government till 1989, despite the migration of Kashmiri Pandits under his rule. The party also alleged that ‘BJP’s own governor Jagmohan’ asked Kashmiri Pandits to relocate to Jammu.
“BJP-supported VP Singh government came to power in December 1989. Pandits’ migration started the very next month, in January 1990. BJP did nothing and continued supporting VP Singh till November 1990,” Kerala Congress said in a tweet.
Highlighting the series of initiatives taken by the Congress for Kashmiri Pandits during its rule, Kerala Congress said that the UPA government built 5,242 tenements for Pandits in Jammu and provided one-time assistance of Rs 5 lakh to each family in addition to student scholarships, assistance to farmers & welfare schemes worth Rs 1,168.4 crore.
The BJP hit back at Congress and said that Congress’ version of history is ‘distorted’. BJP MP KJ Alphons said that it was the Congress and its allies who created the situation in which Kashmiri Pandits could not live in the Valley anymore.
“They were murdered, there was a genuine fear for their lives, so they left…things have improved dramatically after the revocation of Article 370,” he further added.
Alphons said that over 1.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits were driven out on communal grounds, by the ruling dispensation, which was Congress or its supported governments. Shortly later, Senior government advisor Kanchan Gupta tweeted former PM Manmohan Singh’s picture with separatist leader Yasin Malik to show that the Congress government was in touch with those fighting an armed protest demanding separate Kashmir.
“Here is what #UPA did: Hugged and kissed terrorist Yasin Malik whose hands are stained with the blood of Indians, including IAF personnel. @INCIndia protesteth too much. It should instead opt for silence to hide its guilt and shame (sic),” Gupta said.
