'I Was Scared To Go To Lal Chowk': Sushilkumar Shinde Recalls 2012 Kashmir Visit As Home Minister, BJP Reacts

Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde said he was scared to visit the iconic Lal Chowk in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar during his stint as the Union home minister. While this got him a lot of publicity and people thought he was moving around without fear, he was scared throughout, he said.

Shinde was advised by educationist Vijay Dhar not to roam around much but make it a point to visit Lal Chowk and Dal Lake in Srinagar, and interact with people during his visit to the Valley in 2012.

“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 bataun (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…” he was quoted by news agency ANI, during the launch of his memoir ‘Five Decades in Politics’ written by journalist-author Rasheed Kidwai.

Shinde was appointed the Union home minister in the then Manmohan Singh-led government in 2012. His tenure witnessed the trials and executions of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks accused Ajmal Kasab and 2001 Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru, as well as the 2012 Delhi gangrape case.

During his visit to Kashmir in 2012, he was accompanied by Omar Abdullah, the then chief minister of the erstwhile state. He had stopped at different spots in Srinagar, including Lal Chowk and an arts showroom for shopping as well as the Ghanta Ghar.

Apart from being the chief minister of Maharashtra from 2003 to 2004, Shinde has held some of the highest offices in the country, including the Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 2004 to 2006 and the Union home minister from 2012 to 2014. He was also the UPA’s vice-presidential candidate in 2002, and in the party he served as general secretary.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who was also present at the book launch, praised him for his positive demeanour saying he went about his business with an ever-present smile on his face and did his work quietly.

He argued that this quality of Shinde is rather rare in today’s time when some people, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, are all talk and no action. “He (Shinde) has amazing patience. I, frankly speaking, get angry very easily, and can’t stop myself when I see injustice happening anywhere. But not him, Shinde ji is ever smiling. To have that kind of attitude for 50 years is very difficult and he managed to do that. Not for nothing, he became chief minister, home minister, governor and achieved so much in his life,” he added.

‘Rahul Gandhi comfortably seen doing Bharat Jodo Yatra today’

With the upcoming assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir Shinde’s comments ignited a response from the BJP, which said he “admits he was scared of going to J&K”. Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla accused the National Conference and the Congress for wanting to “take J&K back to days of terror”.

“UPA era Home Minister Sushil Shinde admits he was scared of going to J&K. ‘They told me to go Kashmir and do Photo-op at Dal lake for me and UPA’s Public image as Home Minister of India. But I was scared.’ Today Rahul Gandhi was comfortably seen doing Bharat Jodo Yatra & snow fight in Kasmir! But NC & Congress want to take back J&K back to days of terror !” Poonawalla wrote on X.