UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday asserted that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to India, and “we will take it back”. Shah was addressing an election rally in Prayagraj to seek votes for BJP candidate Neeraj Tripathi. “Farooq Abdullah and Mani Shankar Aiyar say give respect to Pakistan because it has atom bomb... Rahul baba, today from the sacred land of Prayagraj I will say this PoK is ours, will remain ours, and we will take it back,” he said while referring to Aiyar’s atom bomb remark that has sparked a political row.

 

In a purported video clip that has gone viral on social media, Aiyar was heard saying that India should give respect to Pakistan as it is a sovereign nation and engage with it as it also possesses the atom bomb. While Aiyar has said the video was old and dredged up now as the BJP’s election campaign is faltering, the Congress had said it totally disagreed with the remarks made by Aiyar some months ago. Shah also said that the Opposition alliance has been wiped out in the four phases of Lok Sabha polls.

 

“Four phases of polling have been completed. In these four phases, the ‘I.N.D.I. Alliance’ has been wiped out and Modi ji is rapidly moving towards crossing 400 (Lok Sabha seats),” he said. The main contest in Allahabad is between BJP’s Neeraj Tripathi, son of former Governor of West Bengal and Speaker of UP Legislative Assembly Keshari Nath Tripathi, and Ujjwal Ram Singh, son of former Samajwadi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Reoti Raman Singh. Polling in Allahabad Lok Sabha constituency will take place in the sixth phase of the ongoing elections on May 25.