Jammu, Apr 10: Alleging that National Conference leaders are trying to revive “separatist narrative “ in Jammu and Kashmir, Leader of Opposition in J&K Assembly and senior BJP leader, Sunil Sharma on Thursday said that NC’s vision advocates for a divisive atmosphere in the Union Territory.
Addressing a news conference here, LoP Sharma, according to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said, “NC leaders seem nostalgic for the past, trying to revive separatist narratives. NC’s vision advocates for a divisive atmosphere with slogans like ‘Naara-e-Takbeer, Allahu Akbar’, reminiscent of the 1989 exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. It feels strange when National Conference MLAs support separatists like Masarat Alam.”
“National Conference openly demands in the Legislative Assembly to hold talks with Pakistan, slogans of ‘Takbeer Allahu Akbar’ were raised . This is not a Jama Masjid where you can raise slogans like ‘Takbeer Allahu Akbar’ or of ‘Risalat.’ This is the Vidhan Sabha. Here, people’s issues are discussed. Here, solutions to people’s problems are found. Here, the hopes of the people, based on promises, are fulfilled.”
He said, “Jammu and Kashmir is experiencing peace and progress, free from the Hurriyat calendar and strikes because law & order is in purview of the Modi government.”
The LOP said, “Today no fear prevails in J&K, any tourist can easily travel to any district without apprehension. Today, an ordinary person can move around safely. Situation has changed for the good.”
Referring to the demand of the National Conference to restore J&K’s statehood, Sharma said, “BJP would want the statehood restoration only after the terrorism is fully eradicated from the Union Territory. We wanted to have a debate on statehood restoration in the Assembly so that we could expose the conduct of the National Conference (NC) government—which is now demanding the return of statehood—has been like.”
“When NC had the police, when they had full state, how did they treat the people here? I believe there is no harm in saying this—how were the people oppressed here? You must have seen it yourself—many massacres, many targeted killings happened. That happened when the National Conference was in power,” the LOP said, as per KNO.
He said that now peace has been established in Jammu and Kashmir. “Today, separatism has declined, stone-pelting and terrorism have ended. So, if there are still any remnants of this, we want to uproot them completely. After that, there will be statehood restoration. But we will never, at any cost, accept the National Conference’s version of separatist statehood,” Sharma said, adding, “BJP wants the state where a common citizen of Jammu and Kashmir prospers, where he lives in peace. This is the vision the Bharatiya Janata Party holds, and the BJP government is committed to it.”—(KNO)
