Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir BJP spokesperson, Abhijeet Jasrotia Sunday launched a scathing attack on National Conference (NC) vice-pPresident and former chief minister Omar Abdullah for his remarks questioning the credentials of BJP leader Tarun Chugh.
Jasrotia reminded Omar that it was the BJP that once trained him as a Union minister, emphasizing the seniority and credibility of the BJP in national politics.
Jasrotia challenged Omar Abdullah to explain to the people of Jammu and Kashmir who was responsible for “looting the state and pushing it toward chaos and anarchy”.
“You owe the people an explanation, Omar,” he said.
“Tell them how the NC looted the state and drove it into darkness where 1.5 lakh people were killed in violence and Omar Abdullah was holidaying in London!” he said.
He criticised Omar Abdullah for “betraying” people of Jammu and Kashmir when they needed them the most and now trying to be the holy cow.
The BJP spokesperson highlighted the series of dynastic alliances that have defined the history of NC and Congress, dating back to the Sheikh Abdullah-Jawahar Lal Nehru alliance, the Indira-Sheikh Accord, the Farooq Abdullah-Rajiv Gandhi accord, and the current Rahul Gandhi-Omar Abdullah alliance.
Jasrotia accused these political accords of spoiling Jammu and Kashmir, pushing the region into instability and conflict.
Terming the NC-Cong alliance as “thing done under compulsion”, Jasrotia said that these alliances are nothing new.
“These accords are merely dynastic pacts that have done irreparable damage to J&K,” he said. He said BJP won’t allow NC and Congress to exploit sentiments of the people. BJP, he said, has broken the backbone of militancy and promised a safe return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley.
In a direct challenge to the NC leadership, Jasrotia asked Omar Abdullah to explain the “deaths of over 1.5 lakh people during the tumultuous years under NC’s rule”.
He further questioned the NC’s push for “greater autonomy” and “pre-1953 status,” demanding clarification on these issues and their consequences for the state.
These demands, he said, already stand rejected by all previous governments at the Centre and “even by the people” of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Jasrotia also slammed the NC for “denying rights” to marginalized communities like the Gujjars and Bakerwals while reversing progress made under the BJP’s leadership.
“The rights of women, West Pakistani refugees, and the Valmiki community have been restored by the BJP. Yet, Congress and NC are determined to take these rights away once again,” Jasrotia charged.
Jasrotia accused Omar Abdullah and Rahul Gandhi of actively opposing the peace and progress currently unfolding in J&K. He pointed to the increasing influx of tourists as a positive indicator of stability in the region, which he claimed the NC and Congress are unwilling to accept.
“Rahul Gandhi and Omar Abdullah seem to prefer seeing more graves over the benefits of peace and development in J&K,” Jasrotia said.
He alleged that the latest NC-Congress accord, like the previous ones, is a “mere gimmick” aimed at regaining power rather than serving the people of J&K.
“Both Congress and NC have lost ground,” he said, “and their so-called ‘fresh accord’ is nothing but an attempt to block the progress and peace brought by the BJP.”
Jasrotia warned that the Congress-NC alliance “intends to roll back the peace initiatives implemented under BJP leadership, including plans to reinstate visa requirements for travel to J&K….
“They want to make it so that people need visas to visit Jammu and Kashmir. We will never allow that to happen,” he stated.
