Amit Shah says Maharashtra polls a referendum on removal of Article 370

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The BJP has decided that it will fight the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra as a referendum on the Centre’s decision to scrap Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, Union home minister and BJP national president Amit Shah said on Sunday.

“This is the first election after the decision on 370. I want people in Maharashtra to decide whom they want to support. They should show the parties opposing our decision their place,” said Shah at an election rally in Mumbai.

He also affirmed that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will again be the chief ministerial candidate for the post.

The scrapping of J&K’s special status, he asked BJP workers to make the electorate aware of this move.

“The BJP workers should go to every household and explain about the scrapping of Article 370. It was done to integrate Kashmir into India,” said Shah. He appealed the voters to dump the Congress and the NCP for their opposition to the scrapping of J&K’s special status.

He also called upon NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to clarify their stand on Article 370 during their campaign and rebutted the claims of the Congress that the Centre’s decision to scrap J&K’s special status would lead to bloodshed in Kashmir.

“Right from August 5, not a single bullet has been fired, not anyone killed till date,” the minister said.

Shah said the BJP’s campaign had started with the scrapping of Article 370.

The State assembly elections would be held on October 21 and the BJP is in buoyant mode following its victory in Lok Sabha polls in the summer.

The Centre abrogated Article 370 on August and split Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.