Was scared to visit Lal Chowk: Ex-HM Sushilkumar Shinde

Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde said visits to Lal Chowk, in the heart of Srinagar, used to scare him off during his stint as the Home Minister.

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Speaking at the launch of his memoirs, “Five Decades of Politics” in New Delhi, Congress veteran Shinde said: “Before I became the Home Minister, I visited him (read educationist Vijay Dhar). I used to seek his advice. He advised me to not roam around here and there, but to visit Lal Chowk (in Srinagar), meet people and go around Dal Lake. That advice gave me publicity and people thought that here is a Home Minister who goes there without any fear, but who do I tell that I was so scared.” Shinde said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back, saying “Kashmir was not in safe hands under the Congress-led UPA.”

Union Minister Piyush Goyal said during the Congress rule, even the Home Minister was afraid to go to Kashmir.

“Now, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the security of the nation was so strong that even opposition leaders (read Rahul Gandhi) play with snow in Kashmir, without any fear,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal said.