Barely months after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched his campaign for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections with a promise to “restore statehood” and “empower the people,” terrorists struck in the heart of the Kashmir Valley. The brazen attack in Pahalgam has left nearly 27 civilians (mainly Hindus) dead and many injured, raising uncomfortable questions about the political rhetoric being mainstreamed amid a fragile security environment.
Rahul Gandhi, who addressed back-to-back rallies in Ramban and Anantnag in September 2024, claimed that Jammu and Kashmir is under the rule of a “king” — referring to the Lieutenant Governor — and promised to roll back the current Union Territory status. He framed the removal of Article 370 and the reorganization of J&K as an affront to democracy, ignoring the fact that these measures have led to a significant drop in terror-related incidents over the past five years.
In his 4 September 2024 speech, Gandhi accused the BJP government of “snatching wealth from Kashmiris and giving it to outsiders.” He said, “Not just has your state been snatched away, your rights, your wealth, everything is being snatched away from you. In 1947, we removed Rajas and made a democratic government. We gave Constitution to the country. Today in Jammu Kashmir, there’s a Raja sitting and his name is LG, but he is a Raja. And your wealth is being snatched away from you and given to outsiders. Be it contracts, all the benefits are being enjoyed by outsiders and is being snatched away from Jammu Kashmir people.
On 23 September 2024, he said, “And what was yours, first ‘your’ government used to take decisions, the decisions that were taken in ‘your’ interest, the decisions that were taken in consideration of ‘your’ future, today, ‘people from outside’ are taking decisions. ‘You’ don’t have a voice in running ‘your’government. ‘Your’ government runs from Delhi.”
This rhetoric, critics argue, stokes regional resentment and revives the us-vs-them language that Pakistan-backed terror networks exploit.
This week’s terror strike in Pahalgam reminds the nation of what is at stake. By aggressively championing the rollback of central authority and aligning with parties like the National Conference, which have a long and complicated history with separatist narratives, Rahul Gandhi had effectively signaled to hostile actors — both domestic and cross-border — that a political window may be opening.
Echoes Separatist Language
Just a few days before the Pahalgam terror attack, we reported of a viral video from PoK. In the video, the speaker also speaks in separatist tones where he calls the movement of people from other parts of India into Kashmir as a move towards “demographic change” orchestrated by PM Modi.
National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah called tourism boom a “cultural invasion”.
All these are just different words but echoing the same point that Rahul Gandhi makes – those outside of Kashmir are outsiders. While the government is doing its best to develop the region to its full capability, people like Rahul Gandhi and his coalition partners do everything to derail the efforts of the central government.
This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi has made such controversial statements on Kashmir. In 2019, his remarks on human rights post-Article 370 abrogation were quoted by Pakistani representatives at the UN. Now, critics allege, he is once again handing over rhetorical ammunition to India’s enemies.
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