New Delhi: BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav has said that his party supports restoring full statehood to Jammu & Kashmir.
“BJP’s Jammu & Kashmir unit is of the opinion that statehood should be given back when the time is favourable. We want J&K to be restored to a full state’s status. Home Minister Amit Shah himself said while granting UT status that work would be done to get full statehood back very soon. The Assembly is yet to be constituted and delimitation for UT is pending,” Madhav was quoted as saying by a wire agency in an interview with it.
On the question of restarting political activities in the Valley, he said that most of the detained leaders have been released. “BJP wants all leaders to act as bridges between administration and public by participating in political activities, but all big leaders of PDP, National Conference, Congress are sitting inside their houses. Congress leaders are not even arrested so they should answer why they are not taking part in political activities. Political activity will start when Assembly elections are held.”
On the question related to the fear of homecoming among the Kashmiri Pandits after the recent murder of sarpanch Ajay Pandita, Madhav said that the Home Ministry is looking into the entire matter.
He said, “Unless we are able to guarantee both security and respect there, it will not be possible for the Kashmiri Pandits to go back to the Valley. Only the formation of colonies cannot lead to the return of the Pandits.”
On the question of why the BJP formed the government in J&K with the PDP, Madhav said that if the BJP had not formed the government, the Assembly election would have had to be held again. However, there were some benefits and some disadvantages of forming a government with the PDP, he said.
The government fell three years later after the BJP withdrew support.
Madhav said that after the removal of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir, there was very little opposition from the public. He claimed that the people have realised that due to Article 370, the personal prosperity of the Kashmiri leaders only increased, but the public did not benefit. “Now the public’s attitude is looking positive.”
Veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s resignation was described by Madhav as the result of Hurriyat’s internal politics.
He said that Geelani’s resignation “will not be able to cover up his political misdeeds of the last 30 years as thousands of youths died in the valley for which Geelani is responsible.”
