Nitish Kumar slams NC chief PoK remark

Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday strongly reacted to former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah’s statement that PoK belonged to Pakistan, saying that the entire Kashmir, including the areas occupied by Pakistan, was an integral part of India.

“We have always held that Kashmir is an integral part of India. This has been our unequivocal stand on the issue. We hold that the whole of Kashmir, including the areas occupied by Pakistan, is an integral part of the country,” he told reporters on the sidelines of his weekly “Lok Samvad” (public interaction) programme.

Mr Abdullah on Saturday had said that PoK should be handed over to Pakistan to resolve the long-pending border dispute between the two countries.

The Bihar chief minister also showed his concerns about growing cases of cow vigilantism in the country. He said that the matter was brought up for discussion with the Prime Minister who assured strict action against those who have been involved in such incidents.

“Prime Minister has assured strict action against those who have been taking the law into their hands in the name of cow vigilantism,” Mr Kumar said.

Questions were raised after a man was allegedly shot dead by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan on November 10. Nitish Kumar’s JD (U) which is part of the NDA has been facing criticism from the opposition parties after incidents of cow vigilantism were reported from several states.