Berkeley speech: Rahul says PM Modi opened up space for terror in Kashmir

He further said that the People's Democratic Party (PDP) had been instrumental in bringing youngsters to politics

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of opening up space for the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gandhi, who is on his two-week visit to the U.S., addressed the students of University of California, Berkeley on 'India at 70: Reflections on the Path Forward', and said that when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), led by the Congress, was in power, he had worked with former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leaders like P. Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh to resolve the problems facing Jammu and Kashmir for nine years.

"For nine years, I worked behind the scenes with former prime minister Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh and others on Jammu and Kashmir. When we started, terrorism was rampant in Kashmir, when we finished there was peace, we had broken the back of terrorism. By 2013, we basically broke the back of terror, I hugged then prime minister Manmohan Singh and told him it was one of the biggest achievements," he added.

He further said that the People's Democratic Party (PDP) had been instrumental in bringing youngsters in politics, but the day Prime Minister Modi made alliance with the PDP, he destroyed them.

"So he (PM Modi) massively opened up the space for the terrorists in Kashmir, and you saw the increase in violence," he added.

Rahul further said that the Congress government had given the Kashmiri youth a "vision" and employment opportunities

Gandhi would interact with global thinkers and political leaders, and address overseas Indians as part of an outreach initiative by his party, during his U.S. visit.

Here are the highlights of what the Congress VP said in his speech:
 

• He hit back at those who have accused him of reaping the benefits of "dynasty politics", and defended the charges against him, saying that the entire nation is running on it and hence, one should not go only after him. "The real question is if a person is capable. Is the person sensitive?" he added.
• Gandhi asserted that he would do everything in power to help Sikhs get justice in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, adding that he lost his father and grandmother (former prime ministers Rajeev Gandhi and Indira Gandhi, respectively) to violence.
• He said that there is no democratic country in history, which has raised so many people out of poverty as India.
• Rahul Gandhi criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for demonetisation and the hastily implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. He said both caused "tremendous damage to the Indian economy".
• The Congress vice-president added that hatred, anger and violence can destroy the people of India, and that the politics of polarisation is very dangerous, which has raised its ugly head in India today.