Rajnath Singh reaches out to Pakistan from Gurez

Bandipora, Sep 29: In a campaign speech on Sunday in the Gurez valley of north Kashmir's Bandipora district, close to the Line of Control, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called on Pakistan and suggested that had Islamabad maintained better relations with New Delhi, it would have received a bigger bailout from India than the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Singh criticised Pakistan for its IMF bailout saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had initiated a 'PM Package' in 2014-15 for Jammu and Kashmir that had risen to Rs 90,000 crore.

He said that the government had used “more than what Pakistan had been beseeching” from the IMF for J&K.

Singh said that the fund the government was utilising for J&K was for “development and for making the lives of youth better”.

“Oh, why are you, my Pakistani friends, keeping your distance from us? You are our neighbours,” he said.

"Vajpayee Ji used to say that one can change his friends but not his neighbours,” Singh said quoting former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He also slammed Pakistan saying that the country had a history of seeking “financial aid”, which they were “using to run terrorism factories” and that “the business of terrorism was not going to last long”.

Singh said that whenever they investigated, they always discovered Pakistan’s involvement in terrorist activities in Kashmir.

He said that every government had attempted to persuade Pakistan to close terrorist training camps on its soil, but the country had “never desisted”.

Even suggesting India's efforts to improve relations, Singh said, “PM Modi had broken all protocols to attend the marriage function of Nawaz Sharif’s granddaughter.” He said that Pakistan was “frustrated” since Article 370 was repealed.

“They are attempting to revive terrorism in J&K,” Singh said.

He said that Pakistan does not want the democracy in J&K to be strengthened.

Singh then pointed to the crowd and said, “It gives me hope, and I have complete faith that no force on earth can harm J&K’s democracy.”

“Pakistan should never forget that new India can even go across the border to fight if need be,” he said.

Issuing a warning to those in Pakistan intending to harm India, he said that if any major terrorist incident occurs in India, “We will get inside and target them wherever they are.”