Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah attacked the Congress, defended his party’s decision to quit the alliance government and asserted his party’s commitment towards the growth and security of Jammu-Kashmir during a rally in Jammu on Saturday evening.

In the first public address since BJP’s withdrawal from the alliance government it formed with People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Shah said that for BJP it is not the government but the safety and development of J-K which matters.

“Only BJP raises ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans when government falls while others lament when their government fall,” said Shah underlining what his party claims was the need to break away from the alliance government led by former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti.

In a pointed charge on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Shah demanded to know the response of the 48-year-old leader on the comments issued by Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Saifuddin Soz.

“Rahul Gandhi should clarify what relationship Congress shares with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT),” said Shah referring to the terror group’s endorsement of Ghulam Nabi Azad’s remark that more civilians had died in Army operations in the state than terrorists.

“No one can separate J-K from India,” thundered Shah crediting the party’s ideological founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee for his sacrifice in keeping J-K an integral part of India.

Congress leader Soz had said that former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was right in saying Kashmiris will prefer to be independent.

Shah also said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to bring development in the state, something “that didn’t happen in the last 70 years”, but accused the PDP-led coalition government for not following up on the efforts.

“We had provided financial assistance for Kashmiri Pandits who were driven out of their homes 40 years ago, but PDP gave them nothing,” he said.

Shah arrived in J-K to chair a core group meeting of the party. J-K is under Governor’s Rule since the fall of the government. Shah had called all BJP ministers to New Delhi after which party national general secretary Ram Madhav announced withdrawal from the ruling coalition in the state.