Republican Party of India (RPI) chief Ramdas Athawale on Friday said that his party would contest 10 Assembly seats in Haryana and support the BJP on the other 80 seats.
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Mr. Athawale was here to review schemes pertaining to his Ministry.
“In Haryana, we are not very strong but we want to contest at least 10 seats in the upcoming Assembly polls. We will be contesting against the Congress and by fielding our candidates, we will only be helping the BJP. Also, all our candidates who will win, would support the BJP government,” he told reporters.
Calling Narendra Modi a “dashing” Prime Minister, Mr. Athawale said the decision to abrogate Article 370 was historic and one which Pakistan could not digest. “Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to rake up the Kashmir issue. It (Pakistan) should now hand over PoK to us as it would be in Pakistan’s interest.”
There is complete peace in the Valley since the Article 370 decision, he said, adding “The decision would help remove all obstacles in the path of development in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Development will now speed up as many of the central schemes and laws, which earlier could not be enforced will now be implemented.”
He said that the Union Territory status given to Jammu and Kashmir was only “temporary”. “Once the situation returns to full normalcy, statehood will be given to J&K,” he said.