Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 29: BJP has taken serious exception to statement of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief and former Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti asking the State of India to consider “leaving” Kashmir in case Article 370 has deprived the J&K State of prosperity.
BJP State spokesperson in charge Kashmir Affairs, Ashwani Kumar Chrungoo, party State spokespersons, Brig (retd) Anil Gupta and Balbir Ram Rattan, while addressing the media persons here, today said that the statement of Mehbooba is not only unwarranted and unwanted but is also bereft of facts.
They said the statement is aimed at raising passions & emotions and causing harm to the established Constitutional and political practices in the State. It also tantamount to blackmailing the political position, that the head of a political party is bestowed within a Parliamentary democracy.
Commenting on the statement Ashwani Chrungoo made it clear that since Kashmir is a part of J & K, the province has no exclusive right to represent the State as a whole. It has been established well that the last seven decades political blackmailing, that had the tacit support of the Congress, was engineered by a couple of political families of the Valley. They did it, to suit their own political ends and used their parties and their position to this effect. Their being a part of the mainstream politics in J&K was and is a camouflage to hide their secessionist motives to hoodwink the common people of the Valley, he added.
He said PDP Chief is more interested in exploiting and blackmailing than mitigating the sufferings of the masses in the State. BJP would like to reiterate that Article 370 and Article 35A have lost their relevance, if they had any, and time has come for their removal for good.
Brig. Anil Gupta said that the LoC trade has brought countless miseries for the State as it has been developed into a channel to foment trouble and do illegal and unwanted activity. Its suspension should pave way for its permanent closure. Kashmir centric political parties seem to be in competition with each other on the issues of secession and sometimes they go to the extent of supporting terrorism and extremism in the Valley brazenly.
Balbir Ram Rattan, alleged that a few families of Kashmir representing National Conference and PDP cannot be given the role of Jagirdars and feudal Lords to hoodwink the opinion of the people. Jammu & Kashmir State is nobody’s fiefdom, he added. The people of Jammu, Ladakh , Kashmiri Pandits and other minorities and also the nationalist people of Kashmir rejected the secessionist ideology and practice. They have deep emotional bondings with the rest of India, he added.
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