New Delhi, Sep 10: Veteran Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde said that despite being the Home Minister of the Country in 2012, he was scared to visit the Dal Lake and Lal Chowk in Srinagar.
During a programme here, Shinde said that he was afraid to go near the Lal Chowk and Dal Lake in Srinagar.
Narrating an anecdote about his relationship with Kashmiri Pandit and educationist Vijay Dhar, Shinde said that he often used to take advice from Dhar.
He said, “Even before I was the Home Minister, I used to go to Vijay Dhar and take advice from him. He really gave a good piece of advice to not to roam here and there but to go to Lal Chowk and give a speech, meet the local people and also take a boat ride in the Dal lake”.
“On his advice, I went there and met the people and talked to them. At that time I got a lot of fame due to his advice. The message went out among the people that there is a Home Minister who goes to Srinagar without any fear, but only I know what was my condition at that time, whom should I tell”.
The senior Congress leader said that he was literally scared to be in Kashmir at that time.
He was speaking at the launch of the book ‘Five Decades in Politics Sushil Kumar Shinde as told to Rashid Kidwai' at a function here on Monday.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh were also present on this occasion.
It may be mentioned that Shinde served as the Home Minister from July 2012 to May 2014, during the second term of the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government.
Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday attacked the Congress regarding the statement made by Shinde.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala on a social media X said, “UPA era Home Minister Sushil Shinde admits he was scared of going to J&K. They told me to go Kashmir and do Photo-op at Dal Lake for me and UPA's Public image as Home Minister of India. But I was scared. Today Rahul Gandhi was comfortably seen doing Bharat Jodo Yatra & snow fight in Kashmir! But NC & Congress want to take back J&K back to days of terror!”
