'Was Scared To Go To Lal Chowk?’ Ex-Home Minister Sushil Shinde Recalls Earlier Visits To J-K

New Delhi: Former Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde revealed a personal side to his political career on Tuesday during the launch of his memoir, Five Decades of Politics, in Delhi.

Sushilkumar Shinde, speaking at the India International Centre, recalled his visits to Srinagar’s Lal Chowk and Dal Lake. He admitted that while the public believed he was a fearless leader, in reality, he was filled with anxiety. 

“Before I became the Home Minister, I visited him (educationist Vijay Dhar). I used to ask him for advice. He advised me to not roam around but to visit Lal Chowk (in Srinagar), meet people, and go around Dal Lake."

“That advice gave me publicity and people thought that here is a Home Minister who goes there without any fear, lekin meri fat'ti thi wo kisko bataoon? (but who do I tell that I was scared?) I told you this just to make you laugh, but an ex-Policeman can't speak like this,” the former Maharashtra chief minister was quoted by ANI as saying.

Shinde’s remarks come during the election season in Jammu and Kashmir, with the BJP repeatedly stating that the removal of Article 370 has brought peace to the region.

Earlier, on September 7, Union Home Minister Amit Shah criticised the National Conference and the People's Democratic Party. He said that some leaders would become Chief Ministers during peaceful times but would rush to Delhi and sit in coffee bars whenever there was unrest.

“Kashmir has suffered greatly from terrorism. There were governments here that ignored it. Some people would come and become Chief Ministers when there was peace, but when terrorism emerged, they would flee to Delhi and relax in coffee bars,” Shah said.