Union Home Minister Amit Shah today said that crores of Indians are ready to give their live for Kashmir and PoK.
"As far as sacrificing our lives for PoK is concerned, I am not alone, there are crores of Indians who would be ready to give their lives for Kashmir and PoK,” he said.
He also said that the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was not an overnight decision, but something that took 70 years.
Shah criticised people for questioning the move and called it equivalent to questioning the powers of the Parliament.
He blamed Article 370 for terrorism in the area and alleged that it had given Pakistan an opportunity to "do whatever they want".
"Extra security forces that were deployed are gradually being removed," he added.
Shah made the comments during an interview with Arnab Goswami at Republic TV’s Summit ‘India’s Moment Nation First’.
During the interview, Shah also touched upon several current issues including the idea of an Uniform Civil Code. He assured that the BJP remained committed to the idea and said that it would be implemented at a suitable time.
Hitting out at the Congress, he suggested that the opposition party make its stance on the issue clear.
He reiterated a similar stance on another topic of national importance too. The National Register of Citizens (NRC), he said, would be implemented in a pan-India manner.
Addressing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's opposition to the NRC, Shah said that it had nothing to do with West Bengal or its elections.
"I would like to ask the parties opposing NRC a question today in front of the people of India. Should an individual of the country be registered or not? Should the country work like an open house? Should there be a list of the people of India or not?" he asked
Shah also touched upon the Supreme Court's recent Ayodhya and Sabarimala verdicts. While hailing the Supreme Court's recent verdict that paved the way for a temple to be built on the disputed land, Shah added that the Congress had been a major impediment. He said that in both 2014 and 2019, the opposition party had argued that the dispute should be resolved after the elections. He added that the SC's 90 day period to complete procedures would be adhered to.
But Shah makes a distinction between the Sabarimala and Ayodhya verdicts. "Sabarimala issue is related to cultural practices and traditions whereas the Ayodhya case was a purely civil dispute," he opined.
In case of the former, he said, the court should refrain from regulations as it pertained to the religious beliefs of people.
"If the court is predisposed in giving a judgment in the Sabarimala matter, I hope their decisions on women entry in mosques and Parsi temples remain consistent with the Sabarimala verdict,” Shah added.
Shah also questioned the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the recent political debacle in Maharashtra. He accused the tri-party alliance of indulging in horse-trading and said that the BJP had never compromised on ideology".
"We have not compromised on our ideologies. We have not said that Ram Mandir should not be made. Uddhav Thackeray has dropped his plans on Ayodhya to become CM" he alleged.
"Every Shiv Sena MP used Modi's poster...you tell me what is the ideological cohesion between the NCP, Sena, and Congress? Shiv Sena is given the CM post in the new alliance. They have done horse-trading. I challenge them if they can make Congress or NCP neta a CM and see if Sena supports them. Let alone the horse-trading, here the entire stable has got traded," Shah said.
