Ahead of the crucial elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared on Saturday that discussions of autonomy for the region are off the table. Shah’s statements came during his two-day visit amid increasing political debate over the future governance of the erstwhile state.
“They want to give autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. I want to make it clear that there can never be autonomy,” he said. Shah arrived in Jammu a day earlier to kickstart the BJP’s campaign for the upcoming assembly elections. This will be the first election in Jammu and Kashmir since its special status under Article 370 was revoked and it was reorganized into two Union territories in August 2019.
On Friday, Shah said India is not in favour of talks with Pakistan until terrorism ends, stressing that “talks and bombs cannot go together”. Shah made these remarks while releasing the BJP’s manifesto for Jammu and Kashmir, dismissing any possibility of dialogue with Pakistan amidst the ongoing terrorist activities.
Shah highlighted the significant reduction in terror-related incidents and stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir over the last 10 years, asserting that Article 370 has become “history” and will never return. “Talks and bombs cannot go together. We are not open to talks with Pakistan unless terrorism ends. However, we will certainly talk to the youth of Kashmir,” Shah told reporters here.
When asked about the National Conference (NC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) pushing for talks with Pakistan and the restoration of cross-LoC trade, Shah responded, “Until terrorism ends and the trade-terror ecosystem is dismantled, we cannot agree.” Shah also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for remaining silent on the manifesto of the National Conference (NC) advocating the restoration of Article 370.
“Congress must answer whether it supports the NC’s agenda. Article 370 is history and no one can bring it back,” he said. The minister accused the previous governments of bowing to separatism, stating that peace, development and social justice returned after the abrogation of Article 370.
