Amit Shah slams Congress for doing nothing on Article 370 for decades

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday attacked the Congress over its handling of the Kashmir issue, saying the party 'pampered' Article 370 like a child in its lap for decades till it was scrapped.

At an election meeting in Moradabad, Shah also slammed Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge for suggesting recently that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not be speaking about Kashmir while addressing rallies in other states.

"Tell me isn't Kashmir ours? Khargeji of the Congress asks what people of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have to do with Kashmir," he said, adding that every child of Moradabad is ready to give his life for Kashmir.

"For 70 years, the Congress pampered Article 370 like an illegitimate child in its lap," Shah said, referring to the special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir under the Article.

"You made Modiji the prime minister for the second time and he abolished Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Today our tricolour is flying there with pride. Under the leadership of Modiji, Kashmir has been united with India forever," Shah said.

He said, "Modiji has divided the entire country into four 'castes' – women, poor, youth and farmers. On this basis, work has been done for the development of everyone in the entire country."

The SP has fielded Ruchi Veera from Moradabad this time against the BJP's Sarvesh Singh.

In 2019, the seat went to the SP. The Samajwadi Party had fielded ST Hasan, who was supported by the BSP and the RLD.

Sarvesh Singh is a five-time BJP MLA from the Thakurdwara assembly constituency in Moradabad.

Eight parliamentary constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will vote in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls on April 19. These are Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina (SC), Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit. The counting of votes will be held on June 4.