For silent majority of Kashmiris, saving Art 370 is a non-issue: BJP
Jammu, Apr 28: Claiming that the majority of people in Jammu and Kashmir want early abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution that accords special status to the state, the BJP Sunday said the government is working for “total amalgamation”of Kashmiris with the country.
The state unit of the BJP made the claim while launching a blistering attack against National Conference top leadership for terming the BJP-RSS a “greater threat to the state than Pakistan”.
“NC vice-president Omar (Abdullah) is unhappy because the BJP is assuring the abolition of Article 370, the demand of crore of Indians, but (he) is perfectly comfortable with Pakistan,” said state BJP spokesperson Brig (retd) Anil Gupta.
Claiming that for the people of Jammu and Ladakh and a “silent majority” in Kashmir, saving Article 370 is a “non-issue”, Gupta said, “they want its early abrogation so that they can benefit from the economic boom in India, the world’s fastest growing economy.”
“Their only hope lies in the BJP. They are sure that only BJP can save them from the evil intents of Pakistan, a hidden ally of Abdullahs,” said Gupta.
“The BJP is determined to find a lasting and permanent solution to the problems in Kashmir. Towards this end, the government is working towards return of Kashmiriyat and Insaniyat and elimination of terrorism to create an environment of safe and peaceful living for the Kashmiris and their total amalgamation with the rest of the country,” he added.
Referring to NC president Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, Gupta said the father-son duo is busy criticising the BJP for “reviving the electoral fortunes of their party” which, he said, was once the strongest political force in the state but currently is in a “state of decline”.
“Omar’s threat assessment in which he claimed RSS-BJP a bigger threat to J&K than Pakistan is not only illogical but weird as there is no comparison between the two,” he said.
Gupta said while the BJP represents the voice of the people of the state, Pakistan is responsible not only for unleashing a “proxy war” in the state but has also subjugated the voice of the people of Pakistan-administered-Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan by engineering large-scale demographic changes, allowing China free access there and by denying basic necessities like water and electricity to the residents of these areas.
Referring to Farooq Abdullah’s statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to embalm people of the state, he said the allegation is far from reality.
“The reality is that the vast majority of the people of Jammu and Kashmir are happy with the prime minister as far as security forces-led ‘Operation All Out’ and the Enforcement Directorate and NIA-led operations against the over-ground terror support network and the terror funding are concerned,” Gupta claimed.
Reacting to Abdullah’s another remark that “the BJP failed to carry forward the legacy of former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee”, Gupta blamed the NC leaders and other mainstream parties for the murder of “insaniyat (humanity) and Kashmiriyat” in the Valley.
“Insaniyat has become haivaniyat (beastly attitude) and Kashmiriyat has been replaced by Khilafat (Islamic rule),” he alleged.
“Rather than trying to mainstream the dissatisfied Kashmiris, these parties contributed towards their further alienation from India by promoting the interests of the Jammat-e-Islami and the Hurriyat while wearing the mask of mainstream parties,” he said.
The state BJP spokesperson said Abdullah’s “claim allegiance to the Constitution of India and the symbols of nationalism like the national anthem and the national flag but fail to uphold their esteem”.
“In any case the Abdullahs who represent a party that has lost its political footing in both Jammu and Ladakh regions and are now struggling for political space in Kashmir, reducing their party to a sub-regional party, have no right to speak on behalf of the people of the state,” he said.
