New Delhi: Former Home Minister and senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde has made a startling revelation that has stirred the political landscape. Speaking at a book launch event attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Shinde confessed that during his tenure as Home Minister, he was apprehensive about visiting Kashmir.
Recounting his experience, Shinde said, “When I was Home Minister, I used to seek advice from Vijay Dhar, who suggested that I go to Lal Chowk, deliver a speech, meet people, and walk around Dal Lake. Although this advice helped boost my public image as a fearless leader, in reality, I was quite scared, but who would I tell?”
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) quickly reacted to Shinde’s statement, using it to highlight the situation in Kashmir before the abrogation of Article 370. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla commented, “Shinde’s statement is a testament to the conditions in the valley prior to the removal of Article 370. Today, the tricolour flies proudly from the Red Fort to Lal Chowk, and there has been a significant reduction in terrorism and stone-pelting incidents. Where bullets once flew, cricket is now played.”
Shinde’s remarks have sparked several questions about whether he indirectly acknowledged the improvement in Kashmir’s security situation following the abrogation of Article 370. Did the Congress veteran unintentionally praise the Modi government’s policies on Kashmir? Has he conceded that the valley is safer now compared to the Congress era?
Statistics provided by the government show that after Article 370’s removal, incidents of stone-pelting and terrorism in Kashmir have sharply declined. From 2015 to 2019, there were 5,063 reported incidents of stone-pelting, compared to just 434 incidents between 2019 and 2023. Similarly, 740 terrorists were neutralised from 2015 to 2019, while 675 were killed between 2019 and 2023. The number of security personnel killed also dropped from 379 during 2015-2019 to 146 in 2019-2023.
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