Jammu: Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary on Saturday termed the BJP’s planned ‘gherao’ of the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar on September 2 as “blatantly hypocritical”. He suggested that instead of this protest, the party should “gherao its own headquarters in Delhi” to demand the restoration of statehood for the Union Territory.
The BJP announced the protest against the alleged “governance failure” of the National Conference-led government. The party staged a similar protest in Jammu on August 17.
“If the BJP is genuinely concerned about the restoration of statehood and other serious issues of the people of J&K, it should first protest against its own national leadership in New Delhi rather than targeting the elected government in Srinagar,” Choudhary said, while interacting with party functionaries at National Conference Party Provincial headquarters at Gandhi Nagar here.
He said the irony of this entire situation is that the BJP wants to gherao the Secretariat. “All of us actually expected the Jammu and Kashmir BJP to gherao its own national headquarters in New Delhi instead, and demand restoration of statehood for J&K from the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister.”
Choudhary said the people of J&K deserve clarity and sincerity on the issue of statehood, and that political theatrics cannot substitute for accountability from those who have the authority to deliver on the commitment.
In his address, Provincial president Jammu, Rattan Lal Gupta criticised the BJP over the persistent rise in prices of essential household commodities, including petrol, diesel, cooking gas and other daily-use items.
“Inflation has severely hit the common man, particularly poor and middle-class families, whose household budgets have been badly disturbed by the increase in the cost of essential commodities,” he said.
Gupta said the BJP, which raised these very issues aggressively while in opposition, appears to have forgotten its earlier promises after coming to power.
The NC Provincial president said the people of J&K are already facing unemployment and economic difficulties, and rising prices are adding to their hardships. He called upon the BJP-led Central Government to listen to the voice of the people and fulfil the commitments it had made to them.
