J&K BJP chief slams Chidambaram, says he might have links with ISI, Naxalites

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina lashed out at senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday for his support to the restoration of Article 370 of the Constitution, saying "he is toeing the line of China and Pakistan and might have links with the ISI and Naxalites".

He also said Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation for allowing leaders like Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh to speak "against the country".

Also read: BJP dares Congress to mention Article 370 restoration in Bihar polls manifesto

Reacting to Chidambaram's statement that the Congress resolutely stands for the restoration of the special status and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the "arbitrary and unconstitutional" decisions of the Narendra Modi government of August 5, 2019, must be rescinded, Raina said he has a doubt that the former Union minister might have links with Pakistan's ISI and Naxalites.

"Congressmen have always stabbed the country in its back. Article 370 had given birth to terrorism, separatism and a pro-Pakistan ideology and was the main cause for the bloodshed in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Chidambaram is toeing the line of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan's premier Imran Khan," Raina said in a video statement uploaded on his Twitter handle.

He alleged that treason runs deep in the blood and DNA of Congressmen.

"When it (Article 370) was uprooted, Jinping and Khan felt the pain and so did Congress leaders Chidambaram and Rahul Gandhi. The statement makes it clear that the Congress is dancing to the tune of China and Pakistan and I have a doubt that Chidambaram might have links with the ISI and Naxalites," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

He said the entire country is watching the "Congress drama" and people would never forgive the party.

Also read: Congress welcomes the unity of mainstream J&K parties, demands restoration of Article 370

"Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation because they have committed a great sin by giving the licence to Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh to speak against the country," Raina said.

On Friday, Chidambaram welcomed the coming together of mainstream regional parties of Jammu and Kashmir, including the National Conference (NC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), and said the BJP-led central government must stop looking at the mainstream political parties and people of the Union Territory as "anti-national".

"The coming together of mainstream regional parties of Jammu and Kashmir to fight a constitutional battle to restore the rights of the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh is a development that must be welcomed by all the people of India," the former home minister said.

He said the Congress resolutely stands for the restoration of the status and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the arbitrary and unconstitutional decisions of the Modi government of August 5, 2019, must be rescinded.