Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 2: Speaking out firmly against the ongoing controversy surrounding the anti-encroachment demolition drive in Bandi, Sidhra and adjoining areas, Dr Varinder Sharma, Co-Convener of the Health Cell of the BJP criticized, what he termed as “selective outrage” by valley-centric political parties, particularly the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC).
In a statement issued, Dr Sharma questioned the alleged double standards in addressing encroachments across regions.
He said, “If land can be encroached upon in Jammu, why not in Kashmir? If Kashmiris and others can settle on Government and forest land in Jammu, then why cannot Jammuites do the same in Kashmir?”
Dr Sharma further alleged that the silence of such parties on similar issues in the Kashmir Valley points towards a “deliberate and long-term political strategy” aimed at altering the demographic landscape of the Jammu region.
Highlighting what he described as a “stark asymmetry,” Dr Sharma claimed that there are no recorded instances of Hindu residents, including Dogras or Kashmiri Pandits, encroaching upon and settling on Government or forest land in the Kashmir Valley. In contrast, he pointed to areas like Bathindi in Jammu, where, according to him, settlements have developed on forest land over the years.
“This is not a coincidence; this is an agenda,” he asserted.
Dr Sharma urged the Government to take corrective measures to address what he called a demographic imbalance and suggested the provision of land or housing to Hindu communities in a “fair and transparent manner” as a counter to what he described as decades of one-sided settlement.
“If laws are not applied uniformly across both Jammu and Kashmir divisions, the BJP and the people of Jammu would continue to support the removal of illegal encroachments on Government and forest land in the region without compromise,” he asserted.
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