Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Karra on Saturday said recent attacks in the Valley have “exposed” the Centre’s “tall claims” of peace, asserting that the Union Territory was under a “deceptive calm”.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a party function to mark the birth anniversary of the country’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, Karra said the attack on CRPF personnel in Kulgam and the killing of two special police officers in Kishtwar contradicted claims of peace and normalcy in Kashmir and put the Centre under scrutiny.
“Whenever something like this happens, the government of India stands in the dock. You must have heard repeatedly, both inside and outside Parliament, whether it is the prime minister or the home minister; when it suits them, they say Kashmir is very peaceful, and nothing happens there,” he said.
He targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over their statements in which they cite open markets, functioning schools, and the absence of strikes or stone-pelting as evidence of peace in the Valley, saying the security situation on the ground is often overlooked.
“The Centre forgets that this is a deceptive calm. If this is not a deceptive calm, then how do such incidents happen?” he said.
Karra alleged that the Centre tries to project this calm internationally but gets exposed because of its “poor performance and wrong policies”.
“Such incidents expose the tall claims of the BJP, including those of the prime minister and home minister, that everything is hunky-dory… It (attacks) is a failure of the security apparatus and the policies adopted by the government of India,” he said.
On actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut’s remarks on Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s book, Karra said he does not take Ranaut seriously, adding that such comments reflected a lack of political maturity, culture and values.
He said the remarks neither diminished Gandhi’s stature and respect nor weakened her resolve to revive democracy in the country.
“The BJP and its mindset is getting exposed, that’s all,” he said.
Paying tributes to Nehru, Karra described him as one of the senior-most leaders of modern India who made great sacrifices for the country’s independence.
He said Nehru laid the foundation of modern India, which was later carried forward by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and other Congress leaders.
Karra said Indian democracy was once admired and followed by countries across the world, with the “Indian type of democracy” around the world, but followed and referred to as the “Indian type of democracy”, serving as a model for others.
“Unfortunately, that very Indian type of democracy, which became the foundation for bringing democracy to many countries, has today been destroyed by the BJP through its nefarious designs. To revive that very democracy, the Congress party has taken up the initiative today under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
