JAMMU: Reacting sharply to Rahul Gandhi identifying himself as a
Kashmiri Pandit
during his two-day tour of Jammu, senior BJP leader Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo on Saturday said that the Congress leader's words were nothing more than "cold comfort for
Kashmiri Pandits
who have been victims of the Congress party's appeasement policy in Jammu & Kashmir."
Chrungoo in a press statement said, "First of all it needs to be clarified that Kashmiri Pandits have no surnames like 'Gandhi'. Secondly, the Kashmir policy of Congress under
Nehru
and Gandhis is recognised as the progenitor of the Kashmir problem right from 1947. Kashmiri Pandits were the worst victims of the Congress party's Kashmir policy."
“Genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits took place during 1989-90 when J&K was under a coalition government of the
National Conference
and the Congress. Congress is equally responsible for what was done to the Kashmiri Pandits in J&K. Even after the forced mass exodus of the community, Congress never came to the rescue of the Pandit community during its struggle in exile," he alleged.
He claimed that the
RSS, BJP, Shiv Sena and
VHP
were the ones who helped the cause of the Pandits in exile.
Chrungoo said mere rhetoric would not bring any solace to the people of J&K, especially the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community.