Pilot slams BJP's 'PoK pitch' as 'rhetoric'; ploy to divert attention

Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Sunday slammed as "election rhetoric" the BJP's recent 'PoK will be part of Jammu and Kashmir' pitch and asked what stopped it from taking steps to realise that goal when it had a full majority government for 10 years.

The Congress general secretary, who has been campaigning extensively for the current round of assembly polls, also exuded confidence that the Congress may break all previous records to get a larger number of seats than ever before in Haryana.

In an interview with PTI, Pilot said the Congress could get more than a two-thirds majority in Haryana and claimed the top BJP leadership was showing a lack of interest in campaigning, having sensed the reality on the ground.

 

He said despite attempts by many forces to create a sense of confusion in the Kashmir Valley and in Jammu, the Congress-National Conference's collective campaign will ensure they form a government with a comfortable majority.

Asked about Yogi Adityanath's remarks last week that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will become part of J-K after the BJP returns to power, Pilot said, "I am surprised why the chief minister of a state is making that statement right during the elections. They have been in the government for the last 10 years. I must remind you, the first time Parliament passed a unanimous resolution to take back the PoK was in 1994 when the Congress was in government. We were in power and we made that commitment through Parliament."

"The BJP has had power for 10 years, a full majority government for 10 years, what has stopped them from taking that step?" the former Union minister said.

Pilot claimed the BJP raises these issues just briefly for three weeks of election campaigning and after that things go back to normal.

"If you look at the number of terror incidents that have happened in J-K, areas of Jammu which had never experienced infiltration, (are experiencing it). Brave young men are dying, and are being martyred because of lapses of the government of India and the state administration," he told PTI.

Asked if he regards the BJP talk on PoK election rhetoric, Pilot said, "100 percent, it has nothing to do with reality on the ground. I think these things are brought up every time during election speeches just to sway people's emotions and divert attention."

They talk about 'one nation, one election', then they talk about PoK, then they talk about other things during polls but what about agrarian distress, record unemployment and inflation, the 47-year-old leader said.

Talking about the ground situation in Haryana and J-K, Pilot said there is consensus amongst most people that the elections in Haryana will be a strong voice against the incumbent and the Congress will get a thumping majority.

"The double engine formula of Haryana and the government of India for 10 years has run its course. The response, feedback and sentiment are all in favour of the Congress. The issues of the three farm laws, humiliation of athletes, Agniveer, will cost the BJP. The middle classes, young people, everyone is now fed up and the Congress is fighting a spirited campaign. I am absolutely convinced that we will win this election by a huge majority," Pilot said.

Noting that two phases of J-K polls is over and one more is to go, Pilot said the Congress-NC alliance is placed right at the top.

Asked about talk of infighting in the Haryana Congress and there being multiple chief ministerial aspirants as was the case in his home state of Rajasthan last year, Pilot said every single Congress leader in Haryana has said that whatever is the decision of the party, they will go ahead with that.

"It is a longstanding tradition in the Congress that once MLAs get elected, they sit down, the leadership consults and a name is decided upon with everyone's opinions having been sought. So I think the issue of who will become CM will be taken up once the election results are out and once we get a good majority. The MLAs and the leadership will decide who will head the government and that is a statement repeated by every single leader," the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister said.

"In Haryana, the Congress is firmly placed to win a historic mandate. I won't be surprised if we break all previous records and get a larger number of seats than ever before," he claimed.

He said the Congress could get more than a two-thirds majority because of the way the BJP government has performed and after nine years, it removed a CM, which clearly showed that the performance is not up to the mark.

On Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attack on the Congress over alleged infighting, Pilot said the BJP should look inwards as to what they have done in the past 10 years.

"We are setting the narrative and the BJP is forced to reply to the questions we are asking. The BJP can say whatever it wants, they also realise that they are now fighting, at best, to have a dignified defeat in Haryana," Pilot claimed.

Asked about the BJP's attack on the Congress over Article 370 and the claim that the Congress would bring back the special status, he said, "I think these are all election speeches and the Congress is very clear, as soon as we get the mandate and form a coalition government, the first thing we will do is to ensure restoring full statehood to J-K".

"Never before in the history of our country has a state been downgraded to a UT. The Congress has clearly said that its top priority would be to restore statehood, this directly concerns the self respect and dignity of the people of J-K," Pilot said.

Elections in Jammu and Kashmir are being held in three phases. Voting for 24 seats was held in the first phase on September 18. The next phase of polling for 26 seats was held on September 25.

The polling for the Haryana Assembly polls is to be held on October 5. The counting of votes will take place along with J-K on October 8.