PM Narendra Modi slams Chidambaram for Kashmir autonomy remark, says Congress using Pakistan's language

Chidambaram's comment "clearly shows how the (Congress) party feels" about last year's surgical strikes and the Army's bravery, Modi said.

IndiaToday.in  | Edited by Ganesh Kumar and Dev Goswami
New Delhi, October 29, 2017 | UPDATED 15:33 IST

Highlights

  • 1
    Why are Congress leaders lending their voice to those who want Azadi in Kashmir?: Modi
  • 2
    P Chidambaram said he believes the govt must consider areas in which to give the J-K autonomy.
  • 3
    The National Conference today passed a resolution in favour of autonomy for the state.

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Indian soldiers' contributions to world peace in his monthly Mann Ki Baat address, he said senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's remarks on autonomy in Kashmir were an insult to soldiers.

The former Union Minister's party was using the language used by separatists and in Pakistan, he said.

"Why are Congress leaders lending their voice to those who want Azadi in Kashmir?" the news agency ANI quoted Modi as saying.

Chidambaram's comment "clearly shows how the (Congress) party feels" about last year's surgical strikes and the Army's bravery, he said. "All of a sudden today, those who were in power in the past are making U-turns. They are shamelessly making statements."

"Congress besharmi ke saath us bhasha ka prayog de rahe hain, jo Kashmir ki dharti pr algavvadi karte hain,jo Pak mein bola jata hai? (Congress is shamelessly using the language that is used by separatists in Kashmir and which is spoken in Pakistan)."

"Can the nation really benefit from such people who are intent on playing politics with the nation's brave? The Congress needs to answer for this statement, we won't allow a compromise on the country's unity," Modi said.

P Chidambaram, a former Union Minister, said yesterday that he believes the government must consider areas in which to give the state of Jammu and Kashmir autonomy.

"My interactions in J&K led me to the conclusion that when they (the state's people) ask for 'Azadi', most people want autonomy," Chidambaram was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Chidamabaram's comments were panned by Union minister Smriti Irani who said it was "shocking and disgusting" that the former home minister had spoken about "breaking the Union of India into pieces".

Modi's remarks also came on a day when the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir passed a resolution in favour of autonomy for the state. NC leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was elected party president today, said Jammu and Kashmir has not merged with India, it has acceded.

Jammu and Kashmir does not compare with other states - it has its own constitution and we only seek talks within this constitutional framework, Abdullah said. 

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