Ramban: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has targeted National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah over his statement on the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. He asked Omar Abdullah whether the separatist leader should have been garlanded publicly.

Rajnath Singh was addressing a public rally in Jammu's Ramban area on Sunday as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for the upcoming Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

'Afzal Guru should not have been hanged'

He said, 'I heard National Conference leader Omar Abdullah sahab said that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged. I want to ask him that Afzal Guru should not have been hanged, should he have been garlanded publicly? And these people claim that they will restore Article 370.

What was Omar Abdullah's statement?

In a recent interview with ANI, Abdullah had said that he did not believe any purpose was served by 'hanging' Afzal Guru.

'India considers the people of PoK as its own'

During the rally, the Defence Minister said that seeing the extensive development of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the people there would also like to join India. He said that India considers the people of PoK as its own.

Singh said, 'I ask all of you to form a BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir and after seeing the development in Jammu and Kashmir, the people of PoK will say that we do not want to live with Pakistan, we want to go with India.'

People in Pakistan consider the people of PoK as foreigners, but India considers the people of PoK as its own. He further said, come and join us.

'Have vowed to restore 370'

Attacking opposition parties, he said the National Conference, with which the Congress party has formed an alliance, has vowed to restore Article 370 in its election manifesto.

He further said that no one has the courage to restore Article 370 and a big change has taken place in Jammu and Kashmir, not a single incident of stone pelting has been reported. No one has the courage to restore Article 370. Jammu and Kashmir, which was earlier known as a place of terrorism, has now become a tourist hotspot.