Srinagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shah has said that the party believes removal of Article 370 & 35A is the way forward for a solution to the Kashmir problem.

Responding to a question during an interview with The Economic Times, “if BJP will still pursue abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir?, Shah said: “First we tried for solution through peace. When that didn’t happen, we started taking controlled action against extremist and separatist groups. NIA did many raids, cut their source of funding. We banned JKLF, Jamaat-e-Islami, removed their security and ran them aground. As for 370 and 35A, this was on BJP’s agenda since the day of its inception, is there even today and will always remain until they are removed.”

Guwahati: BJP President Amit Shah delivers a speech during foundation stone laying ceremony of 19 cancer care hospitals in the state in partnership with the Tata Trust, in Guwahati on Monday, June 18, 2018. (PTI Photo) (PTI6_18_2018_000094A)

Shah said that forming a government with the Peoples Democratic Party in Jammu and Kashmir was in the national interest. However, when the party realised that the interests of the people of Kashmir and the country were being compromised, they broke the alliance. “It was a fractured mandate (in 2014). We accepted that and formed a government in national interest. But when we found that the interests of the Kashmiri people and the country were being compromised, we broke the alliance.

Asked if the BJP was politicising Pulwama and the Balakot “attack”, he said the people will have to decide what kind of government they want — one which responds to “terror attacks” by crushing the “terrorists” or one which talks to them. “The BJP government under Modi has gone into Pakistan and destroyed terrorist camps, whether it was after Uri or Pulwama. Until now, there were only two countries, which took revenge of martyrdom of their soldiers – US and Israel. Because of Modiji, India is now the third country to do so.”