JAMMU: Protests erupted in various districts of the Jammu region on Friday against the National Conference and the Congress over the passage of a resolution on special status in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.
The BJP leaders said the demands by the National Conference (NC), Congress and other parties in recent days for the restoration of special status are utterly meaningless as no power on earth can reinstate it.
Led by Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Sat Sharma, hundreds of saffron party activists and leaders took out a protest march in the Jhiri area against the NC-led government.
During the protest, the party leaders raised slogans against the NC government and burnt an effigy to express their anger.
Sharma said the ruling NC-Congress government has compromised the sanctity of the assembly by adopting an undemocratic approach to pass the bill.
He said the events in the assembly on Thursday were intended to appease Pakistan and anti-national elements, and to mislead the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
This is the anti-national agenda of the Congress and the National Conference. From Sheikh Abdullah to Omar Abdullah, emotional blackmailing has been the routine of the National Conference,” Sharma said.
The BJP leader asserted “Jammu and Kashmir has long since moved beyond the shadow of Articles 370 and 35A”.
“It has embarked on the path of development, but Congress, NC and PDP are troubled by the peace that has emerged in the Kashmir Valley. They want to return Jammu and Kashmir to a dark era of terrorism and separatism,” Sharma said.
“Our government promised an assembly for Jammu and Kashmir and fulfilled it within five years, with the Modi government restoring the democratic process. We will continue working for the development of Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.
Sharma further said that the BJP would not allow “traitors” to succeed in their designs to push Jammu and Kashmir toward bloodshed and darkness.
The BJP women’s wing also held a protest at Trikuta Nagar, where they burnt effigies of the National Conference leaders.
Carrying placards opposing the NC, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary, they raised slogans against them, demanding the revocation of the assembly’s resolution.
“NC and other Kashmir-based parties are trying to fool people. No one can bring special status back to J&K. The Supreme Court of India has placed a final seal on it. People are being misled by such actions from the NC. It won’t help them,” said senior BJP leader Priya Sethi.
In addition, the ABVP students marched in Jammu city, protesting against the resolution passed by the NC government.
They raised slogans against the chief minister and the deputy chief minister, accusing them of inciting the people of Kashmir with a pro-Pakistan agenda.
“NC and Kashmir-centric leaders have always played separatist politics to deceive the people of the valley. They have incited people with emotional ploys. It is shocking how the deputy chief minister from Jammu has been manipulated by Kashmir-centric politics,” said ABVP leader Arvind Singh.
The protests were also held in Kathua, Samba, Udhampur, Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi and Doda where the BJP activists burned effigies of the NC leaders.
Criticizing the NC and Congress over the resolution, BJP spokesperson Arun Gupta said, “The calls made by the NC, Congress, and other parties in recent days for the restoration of Article 370 are utterly meaningless. Any number of resolutions in the legislative assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir cannot alter the status quo regarding this article.”
He emphasized that Article 370 has been permanently removed, as it was repealed by Parliament over five years ago.
The Congress’ failure to abrogate Article 370 in 1956 caused immense harm to the nation by fostering a separatist and secessionist narrative in J&K, he added.
“The BJP government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, followed precedents set by the Congress governments to repeal Article 370, doing nothing unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of its repeal, rejecting claims by the NC-Congress coalition,” said Gupta.
The BJP leader said the NC-Congress coalition is misleading the masses with false promises in the legislative assembly about restoring Article 370.
“The fact is that the assembly has no authority to amend the Indian Constitution and bring back the defunct Article 370. The public should recognize their deceptive drive to drag J&K back into an era of darkness as in the past,” he added.
