BJP tricolour plan: J&K parties play politics

BJP’s plan to hoist the tricolor at Srinagar’s historic Lal Chowk on Republic Day  has made Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) tense again.

The ruling National Conference (NC) hit out on Sunday, saying the opposition BJP and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had joined hands to disturb peace in the state.

“The BJP-PDP nexus is trying for a repeat of 2008 [Amarnath Yatra crisis]. BJP is exploiting the people   by projecting that the national flag is being unfurled in Srinagar for the first time. It is a design of BJP-PDP to create a communal and regional divide and put hurdles in the effort of the coalition government to maintain peace,” senior NC leader Ajay Sadhotra said.

PDP hit back. “NC has reverted to its old and outdated tricks of diverting people’s attention. It seems to be a joint venture, with BJP trying to rake up emotive issues and NC presenting it as the sole issue in Kashmir to shift focus from its failures. The two erstwhile coalition partners are trying to bail each other out,” party leader Mehbooba Mufti said.

Congress, which was silent so far, cautioned BJP against going ahead with the flag-hoisting.

“The national flag is as dear to Kashmiris as it is to any other Indian. We do not want BJP to give us lessons in nationalism. The party’s attempt to divide the people of J&K is extremely unfortunate,” senior Congress leader and former state minister Abdul Gani Vakil said.

BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha is scheduled to lead a Kolkata-Lal Chowk ekta yatra from January 12 with the aim to hoist the tricolour at the historic crossroads on January 26.