The Congress recalled the formation of Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, on the last day of campaigning for the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly polls in a bid to counter the BJP’s narrative on Article 370.
Rajya Sabha MP and Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal on Saturday accused the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of focussing on the reading down of Article 370 and Kashmir in order to avoid talking about the stark ground realities.
“Modi ji only remembers [Article] 370. He does not know when Pakistan was split and who did it. It was we [Congress] who split Pakistan’s integral part from it... where were you [Modi] then?” Mr. Sibal asked rhetorically. He dared the BJP to “show the guts” to tell the voters that it was the Congress which split Pakistan into two.
He also targeted Mr. Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their remarks that Jammu and Kashmir had lagged in development because of Article 370.
Citing poverty, infant mortality and unemployment rates, along with the gross enrolment ratio in higher education and the human development index rank of Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, Mr. Sibal said, “These States did not have Article 370, but most of the corresponding figures of Jammu and Kashmir were way better.”
He contended that the Prime Minister was busy delivering “bhashan” or speeches and not “shashan” or governance. “You only remember Article 370 but you do not keep in mind your constitutional duties. Around 93% children are not getting proper nutrition and your entire focus is on Article 370,” he said.
Mr. Sibal also took potshots at Mr. Modi over India’s ranking of 102 in the Global Hunger Index, and suggested that the Prime Minister should concentrate less on politics and more on the people of the country.