India: Rahul Gandhi confuses ‘Kashmiri Pandits’ with ‘PoK refugees’, BJP takes ‘Pappu’ dig at him

While speaking at a public rally in Jammu on Wednesday (September 25), Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, made a serious gaffe when he mistakenly called Kashmiri Pandits as "refugees from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)." 

Gandhi, in his speech, said that former prime minister Manmohan Singh had made a promise to PoK refugees, but soon realised his error. He corrected himself by saying “sorry” and changed his statement to the “promise made to Kashmiri Pandits”.

“Those refugees who came from PoK, the promises made to them by Manmohan Singh ji will be fulfilled… Sorry… Kashmiri Pandits…promises made to Kashmiri Pandits will be fulfilled,” Gandhi said at the public gathering.

Also Read: ‘Nothing wrong,’ Rahul Gandhi defends his remarks on Sikhs earlier endorsed by Pannun

He then accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of snatching the statehood from Jammu and Kashmir. “Till the lieutenant governor is here, outsiders will continue to get benefits at the expense of the people of J&K,” he said.

He said that downgrading Jammu and Kashmir to Union territory "was grave injustice with the people".

"We thought that the statehood would be restored before elections, and it was the right way, but they went for polls first. If the BJP did not do it for any reason, then the first job under the INDIA government will be to give statehood because this is your right," Gandhi promised in his speech.

BJP slams Gandhi for his 'PoK refugee' gaffe

However, Gandhi's gaffe of "PoK refugee" and "Kashmiri pandits" did not go unnoticed by the BJP, which slammed the Congress leader for his mistake.

Watch: Rahul Gandhi Campaigns In Jammu & Kashmir, Criticizes BJP Policies

Reacting to the incident, BJP senior party leader Amit Malviya said, "Then Sam Pitroda wants us to believe that he isn’t Pappu anymore… a man who is the Leader of Opposition can’t distinguish between refugees from PoK and Kashmiri Pandits. The mess in Kashmir is the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru. As if that wasn’t enough, we now have Rahul Gandhi also." 

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh BJP leader Vishnu Vardhan Reddy sai, “No matter how hard you try to hide the truth, it eventually comes out”. “…Kudos to Rahul Gandhi for speaking the actual truth, even though by mistake..” he wrote on X.

Reddy, in another post, commented, “So basically, Rahul Gandhi is saying in Jammu that ‘the Indian government is an outsider for the people of J&K, so it’s an injustice for them’. But the same Congress & their allies always advocate for talks with Pakistan regarding Kashmir. So, for him, the Indian government is an outsider, but Pakistan is not.”

(With input from agencies)