Rahul should clear stand on Rohingyas, Kashmir autonomy: Shah

Bhavnagar (Guj): BJP president Amit Shah today asked Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi to make his stand clear on Rohingya Muslim refugees as well as on the issue of autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a rally in poll-bound Gujarat, he said Gandhi and the Congress should state what the situation in Kashmir was when the party was in power. “Terrorists killed our soldiers and people with impunity during their rule,” Shah said at the rally here.

The BJP government, on the other hand, carried out a surgical strike against militants, he said. “We conducted a surgical strike. Our soldiers entered Pakistani territory, killed them and came back,” Shah said.

The BJP chief accused Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram of demanding autonomy for Kashmir. “The Narendra Modi government is trying to normalise the situation, while Chidambaram comes to Gujarat and demands autonomy for Kashmir,” Shah said.

Gandhi, he added, should clear his position on the issue. “Rahul Gandhi should make his stand clear whether he supports Chidambaram’s demand for autonomy for Kashmir. People of Gujarat should ask him when he comes here next,” he said.

Chidambaram had said last month that he was for greater autonomy for the state. Shah also targeted Congress leaders on the issue of Rohingya Muslim refugees. “P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor have written to the prime minister that they (Rohingya Muslims) should be allowed to enter India,” Shah said.

The people of Gujarat should ask the Congress to state its position on the refugee issue. “Can India play with its internal security? Can India compromise its security? The people of Gujarat should ask the Congress to make its stand clear on Rohingya Muslims,” he said.

The Centre wants to deport the refugees from India, while the Congress has urged the government to involve all parties and formulate a policy on the issue. The central government had taken several steps on India’s security, Shah said at the rally in Gujarat, where Assembly elections are to be held next month.

“The Narendra Modi government has taken many steps to ensure the security of the country and to make India stand with pride in the world order,” the BJP chief said.