By IANS,
New Delhi : Terming the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir as one of “nationalists” versus “separatists”, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday charged the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government with “surrendering before the separatists”.
“The problem in the state of Jammu and Kashmir is neither Hindu versus Muslim, nor Jammu versus the Kashmir Valley. It is essentially ‘nationalist’ versus ‘separatist’,” said a resolution the BJP national office-bearers passed at their meeting here.
“There is indeed a great sense of anger and hurt across the country in general and in Jammu and Kashmir in particular as to the manner in which the UPA government has surrendered before the separatists,” the resolution said.
“The massive and peaceful peoples’ protest, which is continuing in the Jammu region, is not only unique but unparalleled in the history of democratic movement in the country… All this shows a lingering sense of injustice and discrimination that has troubled the people of Jammu over the years,” it said.
The BJP accused the separatists and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of running a “disinformation” campaign in the Kashmir Valley.
“First it was projected that the agitation in Jammu has a communal character. The central government and the state administration ought to have dispelled this motivated campaign immediately but they again kept on vacillating giving further opportunity to separatist elements to continue their sinister campaign,” it said.
“The manner in which the UPA government at the centre headed by the Congress has responded to the developments in Jammu and Kashmir is a disturbing reminder of the manner in which the Congress party has dealt with the Kashmir problem right since independence,” the resolution added.
The state has been witnessing violent protests over the past two months on theissue of transfer of government land to the Amarnath shrine board. Though the state government cancelled the order last month, it led to violence in Hindu-dominated Jammu region and subsequently in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley.
At least 22 Muslim demonstrators, including a senior separatist leader, were killed in the Kashmir Valley.
At the same time, the BJP reiterated its support for the protesters in Jammu region.