Kolkata: "Kashmir is a tough and sensitive job. We should give Omar some time and support". That`s how Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi described the Kashmir situation while addressing the media after concluding his 3-day visit to Bengal.
Rahul Gandhi spoke extensively on Kashmir. In an answer to a question on "trust-deficit" plaguing the Omar government, Rahul Gandhi said, "The government has supported Omar. He is the leader of National Conference and it is the NC`s decision who runs Kashmir. Omar is a youngster and Kashmir is a difficult place. I think Omar is doing a tough job."
Rahul Gandhi said that he needs to understand Kashmir in more detail before commenting on more complex issues like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).
"Kashmir is not a part time problem" Rahul said, adding that he will visit Kashmir when the party`s membership drive goes to the state.
Rahul Gandhi`s major thrust remained on the youth. He also threw in many one-liners that had the journalists rocking. Answering to a question, Rahul said, "Politics is everywhere. It`s in your shirt, it`s in your pants". When asked if Mamata Banerjee was referring to him as a "seasonal cuckoo" while flagging off a series of projects on Monday, Rahul said, "Do I look like a bird to you?" When another journalist asked him about rising prices, Rahul retorted, "Inflation is coming down. You have wrong information. Had you been a politician you should not have been forgiven."
On a more serious note, Rahul Gandhi spoke on a wide range of issues barely hesitating to answer even the tougher questions.
On Congress`s alliance with Mamata Banerjee`s Trinamool Congress, Rahul Gandhi said the party respected Mamata but will not bow its head. "We will fight the left front together. Bengal has to go back to the Bengali people. We will not do so if we are not respected. Nothing has gone wrong with our association with the Trinamool." Rahul said.
"To say that Mamata has been opposing all UPA policies is wrong. She has opposed some policies and difference of opinion is all right. But difference of opinion and disrespect are two different things. We have a problem with disrespect" he added emphasizing that "Bengal needs to get to the path of development which it got off 33 years ago."
On the contentious issue of land acquisition, Rahul said that the government was working on a new bill. "In UP people`s land is taken away for Rs. 400 a metre and sold for thousands a metre... Land acquisition is necessary but one must be fair as in Haryana." Rahul said.
"Naxalism is the result of complex set of circumstance like poverty and connectivity" Rahul said. When asked about his support for the tribals of Niyamgiri over opposition to the bauxite mining project, Rahul said, "What was going there was illegal. The real issue was not corporate against tribal but it was wrong and criminal."
BDST: 1205 HRS, September 16, 2010
