Pak pushed youth towards terror using Art 370, yet Cong did not scrap it: Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that Article 370 enabled Pakistan to push Kashmiri youth on to the path of terrorism yet the Congress did not scrap it during their tenure.

"Due to Article 370, Pakistan misled youth of Jammu and Kashmir and gave weapons in their hands. In the era of terrorism that began during Congress government, from 90s till now, more than 40,000 people lost their lives to terrorism, but Congress never scrapped Article 370," Shah said at an election rally in Tigaon here.

Accusing the Congress of staying quiet even when Pakistani soldiers had taken the most extreme steps, Shah said, "In the last 10 years of their rule, the silent Prime Minister did not open his mouth even when Pakistan cut off the heads of our soldiers. They tried doing the same this time in Uri and Pulwama, but this time we carried out the surgical and air strikes to teach them a lesson."

"Haryana is the land of the brave. There is no village here which has not sacrificed its sons at the borders. Congress alleges we do 'khoon ki dalali', we have done enough to take the avenge the blood of our brave jawans," Shah added.

He praised Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for running a corruption-free and clean government in the state for the past five years and said that development had been possible in the region only because of his leadership.

"ML Khattar has run the government very smoothly in Haryana. The people know that corruption did not take place under his rule, nobody was getting jobs through recommendations and credit also goes to him for the development which has taken place in the state in the past five years," Shah said.

The Union Home Minister is scheduled to address three more rallies, in Samalkha, Bahadurgarh and Gurugram, in poll-bound Haryana today.

Elections for the 90-seat Haryana Assembly will be held on October 21. The counting of votes is scheduled to begin on October 24.