Why take away J&K's statehood if it was to be restored back: Congress

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari on Saturday criticised the BJP government over the restoration of statehood to J&K.

“If full statehood was to be restored, why was the status (statehood) that had been in place for over fifty years taken away in the first place,” Tiwari asked in reaction to Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on restoring statehood to J&K at an "appropriate time."

He blamed the BJP's actions for worsening the state's economic and security conditions and questioned why elections were being held without the restoration of full statehood.

“Now, even the elected government will be your (BJP's) puppet,” he claimed, likening the situation to that of Delhi and Puducherry.

He also accused the BJP of neglecting Jammu, noting that now, "Even Jammu is burning, first only Kashmir was facing the problem of terrorism.”

The Congress MP also responded to allegations that the BJP made about a “conspiracy” behind Indian wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia joining Congress ahead of the elections.

Tiwari criticised the BJP for not standing by the wrestlers during their protests and recalled that Phogat wrote to BJP leaders, but they did not respond.

“When a wrestler who won the gold medal for India, and was being mistreated by the police, why did BJP leaders not go to meet her,” he said.

The Congress MP also raised concerns over law and order in Uttar Pradesh, citing a recent encounter in Sultanpur. He questioned the handling of the situation, where a businessman claimed that his gold and silver were looted during the incident.

"Where is the gold that was looted?" he asked, insinuating that the handling of the incident was shrouded in uncertainty and possible corruption.