Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, June 4: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today criticised the ruling National Conference (NC) over its recent meeting at Dachigam National Park and its announcement of a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi during the upcoming Parliament session, alleging that both moves could harm Jammu and Kashmir tourism sector and mislead the public on statehood.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, BJP spokespersons Altaf Thakur and Abhijit Jasrotia accused the NC leadership of indulging in “high-voltage political drama” to divert attention from unfulfilled electoral promises and growing public expectations.
Referring to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s recent remarks on statehood, Thakur said the NC had repeatedly made dramatic political statements without delivering results. “At one point, the Chief Minister said he would ‘burst after Eid’, but nothing happened. The people of Jammu and Kashmir will ultimately reject such politics,” he said.
Questioning the NC’s proposed protest at Jantar Mantar, Thakur argued that it could send a negative message to tourists and pilgrims ahead of the Amarnath Yatra. “Tourism has revived with great difficulty. When the Chief Minister talks about protests in New Delhi, tourists and pilgrims may conclude that the situation in Kashmir is not normal,” he said, calling it “the biggest attack on Kashmir’s tourism sector” at a time when thousands of families depend on tourism for their livelihoods. Click here to watch video
On statehood restoration, Thakur said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had already assured that statehood would be restored at an appropriate time. He also questioned the NC’s stance, noting that the party had itself taken the issues of statehood and Article 370 to court. “If they approached the judiciary, why are they now showing a lack of trust in the judicial process?” he asked.
Thakur further alleged that the NC was resorting to political theatrics due to mounting pressure over manifesto promises such as free electricity, subsidised LPG cylinders and employment generation.
BJP J&K spokesperson Abhijit Jasrotia also targeted the National Conference, accusing the party of repeatedly using emotive political issues whenever its political position came under pressure.
Referring to the Dachigam National Park meeting, he alleged that the party had unnecessarily involved a protected wildlife area in its political activities. “Earlier they used to do politics over people; now they are doing politics over animals because their political seat is in danger. MLAs were taken to Dachigam in vehicles for the meeting while ordinary people and tourists faced inconvenience,” he said.
He urged Omar Abdullah to focus on fulfilling manifesto commitments rather than mobilising protests over matters already under judicial consideration. Accusing the NC of reviving the Article 370 issue for political gains despite filing a review petition in the Supreme Court, Jasrotia said tourism sustains thousands of families, including shikara operators, taxi drivers, hotel owners and guides, and demanded answers from the Chief Minister to those dependent on the sector.
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