A day after the list of land beneficiaries under Roshni Act was made public by the authorities, Congress on Tuesday termed the move as portraying Kashmiris as “looters”.
The party said the move is aimed at tarnishing the image of those people who have sacrificed their families for keeping democracy alive in Kashmir.
Earlier, J&K administration released a list of beneficiaries of the controversial Roshni Act.
The party’s J&K chief GA Mir said: “Politically, they want to portray Kashmiris in the rest of the country as looters. They are packaging it in that way.”
He said particularly mainstream politicians of J&K are being badly portrayed in the rest of the country.
“They (BJP) are presenting themselves now as saviours, as if they are the ones who have got an unblemished record,” he said.
He said the image is tarnished of those people, particularly mainstream politicians, who have sacrificed their families for keeping democracy alive in Kashmir.
“Today they are being put to question in the eyes of people. They are put under suspicion. Their nationalism is questioned. They are presented as thieves,” he said.
He termed the move as BJP’s “ploy” to divert attention from real issues in the country.
Mir said names of those people have propped up in the list who have purchased lands before 1990 when Roshni Act wasn’t in place.
Khidmat complex along Residency Road under the party name has also come under the radar, while land in Jammu’s Channi area under the name of another Congress leader has also come under question.
“There has to be a proper enquiry instead of image tarnishing,” said Mir.