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Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge with party leader Sushilkumar Shinde releases the book ‘5 Decades in Politics’, his memoir written by journalist-author Rasheed Kidwai, in New Delhi on September 9. (Image: PTI/Shahbaz Khan)
Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde said while his visit to Jammu and Kashmir in 2012 got him a lot of publicity and people thought he was moving around without fear, he was scared throughout
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’ as told to journalist-author Rasheed Kidwai.
#WATCH | Delhi: At the launch of his memoir ‘Five Decades of Politics’, Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde says, “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… pic.twitter.com/MJ4QhrKbwa— ANI (@ANI) September 10, 2024
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.
