Mumbai: Union minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday accused the Congress of capitalising on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks that there may be a better chance of Indo-Pak peace talks if BJP was voted back to power.
The minister said the grand old party seemed to have joined hands with Khan. Imran Khan has said he believes there may be a better chance of peace talks with India and settle the Kashmir issue if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party BJP wins the general elections. He said other parties would be afraid of right-wing backlash in case of settlement on the Kashmir issue.
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Reacting to Khan’s statement, the Congress and other opposition parties Wednesday said a vote for Modi is a vote for Pakistan. The Congress also said that Khan’s remarks reflect that neighbouring country has “officially allied” with Modi. Talking to reporters here, Goyal said, “The way the Congress immediately responded over Khan’s comment, it seems they have joined hands with him. In fact, Pakistan fears India.”
“The same Congress, when it was in power during the 26/11 terror attack, had gone soft on Pakistan. It was a weak government…And Rahul Gandhi’s guru Sam Pitroda has also expressed doubts over the surgical strike and the air strike,” he said. “The way the Congress is capitalising on Khan’s statements, it seems they have joined hands,” Goyal added. On the issue of Ram temple, the BJP leader said, “The Congress had earlier halted the process of finding a solution to the Ayodhya issue. It should now make its stand clear – whether the party wants to build Ram temple or not. Every leader and party worker of the BJP wants Ram temple to be constructed.”
“Congress leaders visit the temple only during the elections, but people are not going to fall for such gimmicks,” he added. Commenting on the Supreme Court’s decision on the Rafale jet case, he said, “The government has raised an issue on a simple principle that whether stolen documents should be considered as proofs. With the court’s decision, we can better represent our side in the upcoming hearings.” In a setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court Wednesday allowed the plea relying on leaked documents for seeking review of its Rafale judgement and dismissed the government’s preliminary objections claiming “privilege” over them.