Married to Pakistan: Mallikarjun Kharge fires back at PM Modi, Amit Shah's allegations

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge launched a sharp counterattack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah after their remarks accusing the Congress-National Conference (NC) alliance in Jammu and Kashmir of aligning with Pakistan's interests. Kharge dismissed the accusations as baseless, responding with the retort, “The BJP may love us (India), but it is married to Pakistan.”

Kharge was addressing a press conference in Jammu on Saturday when he took aim at the BJP's claims. He asserted that the Congress party’s focus in Jammu and Kashmir has always been on the welfare and development of the people and has no connection to Pakistan. 

Hitting back at BJP's allegations

During the conference, Kharge alluded to PM Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan in December 2015 to meet then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. “We didn’t go to Pakistan to eat biryani or embrace their leaders; that was PM Modi,” Kharge remarked.

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Kharge went on to accuse the BJP of making false claims to divert attention from their unfulfilled promises. “They’ve been in power for ten years, and their appointed governor is overseeing Jammu and Kashmir. Why haven’t they delivered on their promises? Instead, they’re creating distractions by talking about Pakistan,” he said.

Congress refutes claims of aligning with Pakistan

The Congress chief’s comments come in the wake of PM Modi’s earlier remarks, where the Prime Minister warned that voting for the Congress would lead to the reinstatement of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, a move that he argued would fuel violence in the region. "Every vote for Congress is a vote to bring back Article 370 and return the Valley to bloodshed,” PM Modi stated during a rally in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir.

In his speech, Modi further claimed that Pakistan is enthusiastic about the Congress-National Conference alliance, saying, “Pakistan is celebrating (Balle Balle) over their partnership.”

Pakistan’s defense minister fuels debate

The debate intensified after Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that the Congress-NC alliance shared a common agenda with Pakistan regarding Article 370. Union Home Minister Amit Shah followed up on Asif’s comments, accusing Congress of sharing Pakistan's intentions, further fueling the controversy.

Kharge, however, remained resolute, branding the allegations as politically motivated tactics to divert attention from the BJP’s governance failures.