NEW DELHI: Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has ruled out talks with Pakistan over Kashmir, accusing it of inciting terrorism.
While addressing a rally in Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday for the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Mr. Shah directed his ire at the “three families that dominated Kashmir for seventy years”.
The Indian Express quoted him as saying that that elections for the J&K Assembly, which is controlled by India, will take place as soon as the election commission finished the process of updating the electoral rolls.
Indian minister said that some people were giving me suggestions that I should talk to Pakistan, those who have ruled here for seventy years are giving me suggestions.
“But I am clear, I don’t want to talk to Pakistan,” he added “I will talk to Gujjars and Paharis of Baramulla. I will talk to the youth of Kashmir. They (Pakistan) have spread terrorism here. What good have they done for Kashmir.”
The rally was held in Baramulla amid multi-tier security arrangements, the Express said.
Mr Shah used a large part of his 25-minute speech to slam the “three families that have ruled Kashmir for 70 years”. While the BJP leaders have often hit out at the families of Abdullahs and Muftis, it was for the first time that Shah brought Gandhis, too, in the line of his attack.
“I saw a tweet of Mehbooba (Mufti) ji. She had said that the home minister should go back only after giving account of what they have given to Kashmir,” Mr Shah said. “Mehbooba ji, listen with open ears and eyes, what we have done, I will give its account, but what you and Farooq (Abdullah) Sahib have done, you should give that account later.
