We hoisted Tricolour amid bombs not snowballs: Anurag Thakur takes dig at Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, January 30: Taking a dig at Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's picture of playing with snowballs, Union Minister Anurag Thakur stated that Rahul Gandhi should remember the time when the BJP hoisted the flag at the Lal Chowk amid fear of bombs and guns.
"We saw Rahul and Priyanka playing with snowballs, saw them enjoying a picnic, but maybe they forgot to thank PM Modi, who after coming to power abrogated Article 370 and 35-A," he asserted. "And who was it who sowed this seed (Article 370), it was Congress," he further said.
The Union Minister went on to say that Jammu Kashmir was given special status after independence. More than 45,000 people have been killed there, said Thakur, asking Rahul Gandhi who is responsible for it.
Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, President of the Bharatiya Jansangh, gave his life to ensure that Jammu and Kashmir remained an integral part of India. He had begun a yatra to unite India. He died in mysterious circumstances. "There is no answer to that to date," Union Minister Anurag Thakur said.
"In 1992, BJP chief Murli Manohar Joshi and the then party worker Narendra Modi hoisted the tricolour at the Lal Chowk between bombs and guns. That time was a time of bombs, not snowballs," he added.
"In 2011, as the Yuva Morcha Chief, I started tiranga yatra from Kolkata to Kashmir. The whole of Jammu was surrounded by police, we were arrested and put in jail. Our workers were beaten when the tricolour was hoisted and they were jailed," he went on to recall.
"The then Prime minister Manmohan Singh said that Anurag Thakur should refrain from hoisting the tricolour, it deteriorates the situation," he said.
"Peace and tourism have increased in Kashmir. More than 2 crore tourists visited after the abrogation of 370 and 35-A. This happened after the Modi government took the steps that were necessary," the Union Minister added.
He blamed Rahul Gandhi for allowing those who have always wanted to break India to participate in the yatra. "In your yatra, more people who want to break India were visible. At every place, people who have tried to break India were present," he said.
He went on to say that Rahul forgot to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for repealing 370 and 35A, which made hoisting the tricolour at Lal Chowk possible.
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- PTC NEWS
