Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 8: The BJP today hit out at the National Conference (NC) for announcing to boycott Parliamentary and Assembly polls in the State and accused it of playing the “role of separatists” by blackmailing the Centre on Article 35-A which is subjudice.
Hitting out at NC chief, BJP State spokesperson and former Minister, Priya Sethi said if Farooq Abdullah is so firm to boycott the elections then he should first quit his Lok Sabha seat and also ask his legislators to quit the Assembly seats. She said earlier the National Conference leader had announced that his party will boycott the Local Body and Panchayat elections in the State unless the Centre takes effective steps for protection of Article 35-A of the Constitution, which is subjudice.
She said Article 35A, which was incorporated in the Constitution by a 1954 Presidential Order, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and bars people from outside the State from acquiring any immovable property in the State.
Priya Sethi said, “the NC is playing the role of separatists by announcing boycott of civic polls and trying to blackmail Government of India on Article 35-A, which is subjudice.”
She said that every time the Central and State governments tried to take new initiatives of empowering people in Jammu and Kashmir by holding Urban Local Bodies and Panchayat elections, but regional parties particularly the NC tried to play “separatist politics” and derail the initiative.
“It is they who tried to derail the process and resort to blackmail tactics. They are definitely sabotaging the systems and processes. The statement of the NC and its leaders is very unfortunate,” Sethi said and added that BJP will not be cowed down by such blackmail tactics.
All the regional political parties including the NC and PDP, have always played a negative role in the State, she alleged.
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