A week after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said there may be a better chance of the Kashmir issue being resolved if the BJP retains power, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that the remarks could be a ploy by the Congress to oust the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre. Sitharaman said, “Such statements come around elections. There have been many Congress leaders who went to Pakistan and said Modi hatae ke liye humari mamdad kare (Help us remove Modi). I wonder if this (Imran Khan’s statements) are also a part of the scheme of things which have been put by Congress. I don’t know what to make of this honestly,” she added.
Speaking to a group of foreign journalists in Pakistan, Khan, according to a Reuters report, said that if the Congress leads the next government, it may be too scared to seek a settlement with Pakistan over Kashmir, fearing a backlash from the right. “Perhaps if the BJP — a right-wing party — wins, some kind of settlement in Kashmir could be reached,” he said. While the Opposition parties questioned why Khan was batting for the BJP, the government did not issue an official response.
On Pakistan’s claims that India was planning another attack between April 16 to 20, Sitharaman said, ” I don’t know where he got this date, so good luck to him. God knows whatever it is but it sounded very fanciful for me and amusing.”