BJP President Amit Shah listed Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition government's callous attitude towards Jammu and Ladakh as one of the reasons to break alliance with PDP in J&K. Shah was addressing a rally at the "historic martyrdom anniversary" of Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee in Jammu.
Jammu: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah in Jammu on Saturday blamed Mehbooba Mufti-led People's Democratic Party (PDP) for neglecting Jammu and Ladakh and listed it as one of the reasons for quitting the alliance with PDP in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Shah was addressing a rally at the "historic martyrdom anniversary" of Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee in Jammu.
Shah said BJP cannot stand the callous attitude of the coalition government towards development in Jammu and Ladakh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided ample funds for various projects to push for the state's development but much of the funds remain unused, he alleged.
"When I last came to Jammu & Kashmir, we were in a coalition government. Today, the state is under the President's rule since we took back our support. Political parties regret when their government falls but BJP is the only party which raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. It shows BJP's patriotism. BJP has no qualms in separating itself from a government which is complacent despite a recent spate of killings in the valley and the Mufti-led government's inaction on the development agenda.
After the murder of Rising Kashmir's editor-in-chief Shujaat Bukari and abduction and subsequent killing of an army soldier Aurangzeb along with the recent flare-up in the valley, it has become difficult for BJP to stay in a government that is complacent, said Shah.
"There's no point for BJP to stay in power if the goal of equal development in Jammu & Kashmir isn't achieved. Modi govt made several efforts but partiality towards Jammu & Ladakh continued. That's when we decided that we should rather protest in opposition," Shah said.
Shah also questioned Mehbooba Mufti's decision to not allocate the land for AIIMS in Jammu despite centre providing ample funds for the project.
"Ghulam Nabi Azad bayan karte hain, main to apne munh se us bayan ko dohra bhi nahin sakta. Wo bayan karte hain, aur bayan karte hi Lashkar-e-Taiba iska samarthan kar deta hai". Just two days back senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that BJP-PDP government's anti-terror operations led to more civilian deaths than militants in the valley.
Security forces have every right to defend themselves when attacked and will annihilate the enemy if provoked, Shah said in a veiled attempt to defend government's decision to extend the ceasefire in the valley.