The Congress on Tuesday noted that it was neither a part of the Gupkar Alliance, called the People’s Association for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and asserted that it would never compromise on the country’s territorial integrity. .
Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s tweet on the alliance, in which he also asked the Congress to clarify its position on the ‘Gupkar Gang,’ whom he accused of trying to seek intervention from foreign forces and insulting the national flag, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked the BJP to explain its 2015 alliance with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in J&K.
BJP terms Gupkar alliance stance on Article 370, Tricolor ‘anti-national’
The Gupkar Alliance comprises seven mainstream regional parties in J&K that is seeking the restoration of full Statehood and special status for J&K under Article 370.
“The Congress is neither a part of the Gupkar Alliance nor is it a part of the PAGD… Will Mr. Amit Shah bother to explain why did the BJP form a coalition government with the PDP that he is now attacking?”, said Mr. Surjewala in a statement.
‘We don’t need lessons’
The Congress said it didn’t need any lesson in nationalism from parties that were ‘slaves or stooges of the British Empire’. It claimed that the national still remembered the sacrifices of its leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
“May be Amit Shah and the Narendra Modi government need new lessons in patriotism and nationalism, as their parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), never hoisted the Tricolour for 52 years”, Mr. Surjewala said.
The Congress statement also delved into some past events. It asked the BJP to explain why it allowed Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence to visit the Pathankot airbase following a terror attack, and released Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, among others.
