New Delhi: Opposition National Conference on Sunday accused BJP of trying to divide Jammu and Kashmir regions on communal lines.
Lashing out at BJP and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, National Conference spokesperson Junaid Azim Mattu said the timing of IIT Jammu inauguration was “insensitive” towards the people of Kashmir. “When you cut ribbons in Jammu at a time when Kashmir is on fire and when coffins of young boys are being lowered into graves here, it highlights your abject lack of humanity and empathy.
“How would people in Jammu have felt if an IIT was being inaugurated in Kashmir Valley at a time of similar grief and mass mourning in Jammu? This act of insensitivity and ruthlessness perfectly exemplifies BJP’s politics in J&K,” Mattu said in a statement. He said the fact that BJP and the Deputy Chief Minister did not require the Chief Minister’s presence for the function in Jammu speaks louder than words.
“This also raises serious questions on the writ and integrity of the Chief Minister’s office. Has Mehbooba Mufti in outsourced Jammu to the BJP? It’s evident that we have two factions within the Government,” the spokesperson added. Mattu alleged that BJP “was clearly invested in dividing the state on the basis of religion and while their Ministers were virtually missing from the Valley during the current unrest, they were in perfect attendance to inaugurate an IIT in Jammu” yesterday.
“We haven’t seen a single BJP Minister attend to their sworn duties in the Valley in the past one month but when it comes to Jammu, their priorities are evident,” he said. “Nirmal Singh should have the courage to openly state that he is the Deputy Chief Minister of Jammu city alone and his cabinet colleagues from the BJP must follow suit,” Mattu said.
Reacting to a pro-BJP think tank taking up the Kashmir issue at a conclave in Jammu, the NC termed it as a “ridiculous eye-wash”. “What could be more insulting and humiliating for Kashmiris? From dialogue offers having been extended directly from serving Prime Ministers in the past, it seems Kashmiris will now have to make do with Ram Madhav and RSS affiliates. “Is the Prime Minister too important to consider what’s happening in Kashmir worthy of a statement or an offer of dialogue?” he added.