Rajnath asks Pak to hold referendum on own soil

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said Pakistan should hold a referendum on its soil to ascertain what its people really want before asking for a popular vote in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Pakistani authorities who speak in favour of a referendum in Kashmir better conduct it first on their own soil to know what their people really want," Singh, who addressed two rallies in Haridwar (rural) to mobilise support for BJP for the February 15 assembly polls in Uttarakhand, said.

Terming both demonitisation and surgical strike as steps taken in the country's interests, he said they will have long-term and good effects. At another rally in the area from where chief minister Harish Rawat is contesting, Singh said if voted to power BJP will make crop loans to farmers interest free. Meanwhile, Union minister Radha Mohan Singh on Sunday accused the Congress government in Uttarakhand of indulging in scams and not working for the state's development.

"Instead of taking the advantage of central schemes and utilising the development funds allocated by it, the state government kept itself

busy with scams and shouting slogans against the Centre," Singh told reporters here on Sunday.