Jammu: Hitting back at former chief minister Farooq Abdullah over his veiled attack on the BJP terming its leadership “divisive forces”, senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta on Monday said that divisive politics is the trademark of the National Conference (NC) and it has attained expertise in the field.
Gupta, a former deputy chief minister, said terming the BJP divisive is an age-old tantrum of the NC patron to hide his party’s “misdoings by virtue of which Jammu and Kashmir has been ruined”.
Abdullah on Sunday said he wanted the Congress to remain united and strong to fight “divisive forces” in the country. The remarks came a day after senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and other ”group of 23” dissident leaders, who have been pressing for a leadership change and organisational overhaul in the party, got together in an apparent show of strength to convey a message to the party high command.
Reacting strongly to Abdullah’s statement, the BJP leader alleged that it was not the BJP but the National Conference and its ilk which brazenly played the communal card and missed no chance to divide the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “It is the NC which is proficient in politics of deceit, deception and division. The BJP, on the other hand, believes in ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ and ‘Sabka Vishwas’,” he said, accusing Abdullah of being “opportunist”. He said it was due to Abdullah’s misdemeanor that the valley saw tumultuous times and Kashmiri Hindus were made refugees in their very own country.
“Allowing all this to happen is divisive politics,” he said, adding that bringing back misguided Kashmiris in the mainstream by restoring peace and opening up vistas of opportunities, which the BJP is doing with utmost sincerity, is something for which Abdullah has no words. Gupta also expressed grief over the demise of Akash Mehra, the son of the owner of a popular eatery, who was shot by terrorists in Srinagar. Mehra succumbed to his injuries after battling for life for 10 days on Sunday. Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Tahir Chowdhary slammed the Jammu and Kashmir administration for its “failure” to provide specialized treatment to Mehra. Expressing condolences to Mehra’s family, Chowdhary who is a doctor by profession, said, “The victim could have been saved had the government taken crucial steps at earlier stages of his treatment.” “The government and administration failed to provide specialized treatment to the victim. He could have been airlifted to anywhere in the country,” he added.
He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministry of Home Affairs and J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to provide adequate compensation to Mehra’s family at the earliest and also ensure security to non-Kashmiris living in the Valley..
