I want to tell the nation that Article 370 is history now. It is not part of the Constitution anymore. It will never return and we will not allow it to happen. This is the Article that gave weapons and stones in the hands of the youth and facilitated them to tread the path of terrorism – Amit Shah.
The closeness between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah is well known. They have been friends since their Gujarat days. They have stuck together through thick and thin and today they form the most formidable partnership in Indian politics.
Shah is a master strategist who h as been crafting BJP’s strategy on behalf of the Prime Minister and has also been responsible for Modi’s image makeover over the years. Shah was recently in Jammu where he promised to transform Jammu and Kashmir from a “terrorist hotspot to tourism hotspot.” He released the BJP’s poll manifesto there, asserting that Article 370 has become “history” and will never make a comeback.
Before releasing the manifesto (Sankalp Patra 2024), he took a dig at the Congress, saying it was silently supporting the National Conference manifesto, which talks of getting back Article 370. “I want to tell the nation that Article 370 is history now,” he said. “It is not part of the Constitution anymore. It will never return and we will not allow it to happen. This is the Article that gave weapons and stones in the hands of the youth and facilitated them to tread the path of terrorism.”
He asked Congress’s Rahul Gandhi to clarify his party’s stand on whether it supported the agenda of the National Conference. Shah, who was in the region on a two-day visit to kickstart BJP’s poll campaign for the assembly elections, scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1, said that the last 10-year period will be written in gold letters in the history of the country and J&K.
Later, releasing the party’s poll manifesto, he appealed to people to vote the BJP to power in Jammu and Kashmir to transform it from “a terrorist hotspot to a tourist hotspot”, adding that terrorism will be completely wiped out from here.
“A white paper will be issued to fix responsibility of those involved in the emergence of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. Shah, thus, set the stage for Modi’s campaign in the elections in the region which is so crucial to the future of India and its political parties including BJP.
Since Modi and Shah are almost indispensable to each other there is always speculation about the possibility of Shah succeeding Modi when time comes. He emerged as the top choice to succeed Prime Minister Narendra over other senior BJP leaders like Yogi Adityanath and Nitin Gadkari in a recent survey conducted by a well-known media house. Twenty-five per cent of respondents backed Shah for the top job, higher than 19 per cent for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari was the third most favourable man for the Prime Ministerial job within the saffron party, with 13% of the votes. Prime Minister Modi, who returned to power for the third consecutive term in the recent elections, will turn 75 next year. Many believe that this will be his last term before the baton is passed on to someone else. While Amit Shah seems a natural successor, Yogi Adityanath’s name also figures among serious contenders to succeed the Prime Minister.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan followed the three with around 5% of approval votes in the survey. The survey also revealed that more than 31% of respondents from South India believe that Amit Shah is the best candidate to succeed PM Modi as the BJP’s candidate for prime ministership. Amit Shah’s 31% approval rating in South India is the highest among all regions, compared to 25% support nationwide. About 13% of respondents picked Nitin Gadkari as a potential option.
