Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh criticised National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah’s comment on the execution of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, and asked whether the separatist leader should have been garlanded publicly.

He was addressing a public rally in the Ramban area of Jammu on Sunday, as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the upcoming assembly polls in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

“I heard that National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Sahab said that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged; should he have been garlanded publicly? And these people claim that they will restore article 370,” Rajnath Singh said.

In a recent interview with ANI, Omar Abdullah said that he did not believe any purpose was served by “executing” Afzal Guru.

The Defence Minister said that even the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would like to join India, seeing its massive development. He added that India considers PoK people as their own.

“I ask all of you to form a BJP government in J&K, and after seeing development in J&K, the people of PoK will say that we do not want to stay with Pakistan; we want to go with India,” Rajnath Singh said.

“People in Pakistan consider PoK people as foreigners, but India considers the people of PoK as our own. Come and join us, he added.

Taking a potshot at the opposition parties, he said that the National Conference, with whom the Congress party has formed an alliance, has vowed to restore Article 370 in their election manifesto.

He further asserted that no one has the courage to restore Article 370 and a huge transformation has happened in Jammu and Kashmir, with “not a single incident” of stone pelting being reported.

“No one has the courage to restore Article 370. Jammu and Kashmir, which was earlier known as a terrorism spot, has now become a tourism hotspot,” he said.

“Earlier, many youths in the Kashmir Valley used to have pistols and revolvers in their hands. Go and see the change today, they do not have pistols and revolvers in their hands, instead, you will see laptops and computers. This is a huge change. There has not been a single incident of stone-pelting after 2022. As long as the Bharatiya Janata Party remains in India, no one can restore Article 370,” he added.

Addressing the underprivileged community in the valley, he said earlier the Valmiki community was barred from voting, but now they can exercise their right to vote in the state assembly elections.

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will undergo its first assembly elections in 10 years, and the first since the abrogation of Article 370.

Polling would be held in three phases: September 18, September 25, and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.

Congress and the National Conference have announced a pre-poll alliance. However, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is not part of the pre-poll alliance and is contesting on its own.

Omar Abdullah, who lost Lok Sabha elections from Baramulla, is contesting from two constituencies — Ganderbal and Budgam. Former CM Mehbooba Mufti is not contesting the assembly polls. PDP has fielded her daughter Iltija Mufti from the Bijbehara constituency.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)