Rajnath Singh’s Bold Response to Omar Abdullah

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took a firm stand against National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah’s recent comments regarding the execution of Afzal Guru, who was convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack case. Speaking at a rally in poll-bound Jammu and Kashmir, Singh questioned Abdullah’s stance, stating, “If Afzal Guru shouldn’t have been hanged, then what should we have done? Should we have publicly garlanded him?”

Abdullah had recently remarked that the execution of Afzal Guru “served no purpose” and claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir government would not have sanctioned his hanging. Addressing this, Rajnath Singh expressed his disappointment, emphasizing that Abdullah’s remarks were “unfortunate.”

Afzal Guru was executed on February 9, 2013, at Delhi’s Tihar Jail for his role in the 2001 attack on Parliament House, where he was buried within the jail premises. Abdullah stated that the state government had no role in the decision and asserted that the execution was not beneficial in any way.

During the same rally, Rajnath Singh also criticized Pakistan for its treatment of residents in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), suggesting that Pakistan regards them as foreigners. He confidently predicted that a day would come when the people of POK would express their desire to join India, drawn by the development seen in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Recently, the Additional Solicitor General in Pakistan referred to POK as a foreign land. I want to tell the people of POK that Pakistan considers you foreigners, while we consider you as our own,” Singh added, encouraging voters to support his party in the upcoming elections.

The Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the first since the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019, will be held in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the results to be announced on October 8. Rajnath Singh assured voters of development and prosperity, reinforcing the BJP’s commitment to the region.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

See Full Bio