New Delhi: The BJP on Friday termed “unholy” the pre-poll alliance between the Congress and the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir and asked the Congress whether it supports its ally’s agenda of “breaking India”.
This came a day after National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah announced his party’s alliance with the Congress for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, which is set to witness its first assembly polls in September after being reorganised into a Union territory.
“An unholy alliance came together to pursue power. The Congress party and the National Conference came together and announced an alliance that has given rise to many questions,” BJP leader Smriti Irani told a press conference at the party headquarters here.
She said the NC has “publicly” announced that it will reinstate Articles 370 and 35 A if voted to power and asked the Congress if it supports the Abdullah-led party’s “agenda of breaking India”.
“The National Conference speaks of a different flag. Does the Congress party support the National Conference’s promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir,” she asked.
“The NC speaks about LoC trade while Pakistan continues to nurture terrorism and an ecosystem that is aligned with terrorists. Does the Congress party support the Pakistani agenda of creating unrest in Jammu and Kashmir that has been pronounced on many platforms,” Irani added.
The BJP leader alleged that the NC is pursuing “divisive politics” of giving autonomy to Kashmir and asked the Congress if it supports such a “dangerous politics” of its ally.
“The Congress party needs to answer if the National Conference’s agenda of the restoration of Article 370 is acceptable to it. Does the Congress party support the National Conference’s politics of discrimination between Jammu and the Valley,” she asked.
“Does the Congress party support the reinstatement of those whose relatives are involved in terror activity and stone pelting in government jobs? Does the Congress party in its support to the National Conference want to push back the economy of Jammu and Kashmir into the hands of a few families whose corruption bled the taxpayers of India,” the former Union minister asked.
Every Indian has resolved “incessantly” that “we as one nation have one Constitution, one flag”, the BJP leader said.
Hitting out at the Congress, she asked the party to clarify if it believes in the idea of “do nishan (two flags)”, “do pradhan (two heads)” and “do samvidhan (two constitutions)”.
“Does the Congress want the Shankaracharya Hill to be known as Takht-e-Suleman and Hari Parvat as Koh-i-Maran,” Irani added.
She also asked the Congress to clarify if its pre-poll alliance with the NC means that it stands against reservation. “Does the Congress support the National Conference promise of ending reservation for Dalits, Gujjars, bakarwals and pahadi communities,” the BJP leader asked.
“The unholy alliance gives rise to many questions. Not only the people of Jammu and Kashmir but the entire nation awaits the answers from the Congress party,” she added.
Asked to comment on the opposition’s counter question if the BJP’s alliance with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir in the past was also “unholy”, Irani replied, “Abrogation of Article 370 was part of our resolve for many years. We abrogated Article 370 and fulfilled our promise.”
The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will take place in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with the results set to be announced on October 4.
Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were last held in November 2014, resulting in the PDP and the BJP forming a coalition government led by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
His death in 2016 led to his daughter Mehbooba Mufti taking up the mantle of leadership as chief minister of the coalition government.
The BJP pulled out of the government in June 2018 and the state was put under governor’s rule.
On August 5, 2019, the BJP-led Centre abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and reorganised the erstwhile state into two Union territories — Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
