The national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Ram Madhav, Wednesday said that his party has sought registration of FIR against National Conference leader Muhammad Akbar Lone for allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans while campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla recently.
Lone, the NC’s candidate for the northern Baramullaparliamentary constituency in Kashmir, had reportedly said: “I will raisePakistan Zindabaad (long live Pakistan) slogan and if anyone abuses the nation,I will abuse him back 10 times”.
“We have asked the election commission of India (ECI) totake strong notice of Lone’s language. Alongside, we have also appealed to theJammu and Kashmir government to register FIR against the NC leader and try himfor treason,” Madhav said, addressing journalists here ahead of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s rally in Jammu on Thursday.
Madhav said that Modi is launching pan-India campaign forthe parliamentary polls Thursday and people of Jammu and Kashmir are “lucky”because he is starting this campaign from Jammu.
“This shows his (PM’s) commitment and seriousness towardsthe state,” he said.
“Along with people of other states of the country, who havedecided to give Modi second term as PM, people of Jammu and Kashmir have alsomade up their mind to elect maximum BJP parliamentarians to the Lok Sabha,”Madhav claimed.
He assured that the party will reclaim both Jammu-Poonch andUdhampur seats.
“Serious discussions are on to give the right person themandate of the party to contest elections from Ladakh. Very soon, his name willbe made public and we will win the Ladakh seat also. As far as the KashmirValley is concerned, we are making every possible effort to show our strengththere,” he said.
The senior BJP leader, who was the architect of the ‘agendaof alliance’ between the BJP and PDP in the state, said “there is noalternative to Modi”.
“The alternative to Modi will be corruption, instability,boost to family politics and poor governance. People of the country as well asJ&K know this fact very well. So, they have PM Modi in mind as their nextPrime Minister even before the declaration of the results,” he said.
Madhav also slammed the boycott by Kashmir-based mainstreamparties, particularly the NC and PDP, of the urban local body (ULB) electionsover the issue of (protection of) Article 35A.
“This shows the opportunism of NC and PDP that they canboycott the ULB and panchayat polls for Article 35A, but won’t boycott theparliamentary polls for the same. It is because the LS polls will empower themand the ULB polls will empower the people. They are against the empowerment ofpeople,” he said.
Madhav also took on Congress party for forging a pre-pollalliance with the NC and PDP in Jammu.
“It is shameful that the Congress party, which isuntouchable for PDP and NC in the Valley, is at the mercy of NC and PDP inJammu just for the lust of chair,” Madhav said.
“And what could be more shameful for the Congress than thefact that it is siding with those political parties whose leaders say ‘PakistanZindabad’,” he said.
“It is shameful that the NC leadership is acting like asympathiser of Pakistan,” Madhav said.
“They are boosting the morale of killers of 12-year-old Atifby tagging themselves as ‘mujahids’ and Pakistan sympathisers,” he said.
“The party (Congress) which calls itself a nationalisticparty has to clear its stand on Lone’s, Ali Muhammad Sagar’s and Mehbooba’sremarks,” he said.
Madhav said that people of Jammu are mature enough tounderstand the role the Congress party is playing.
Asked about the BJP rebel Lal Singh contesting the LS pollsagainst the BJP, he said: “The state unit of the party will look into this andconvince him (Singh) to withdraw his candidature”.
On rumours of some Congress stalwarts joining the BJP onThursday, Madhav said: “You should not use the word rumour. Rather, use theword news reports on such issues”.
Pertinently, there are reports that former Congress ministerand senior leader, Sham Lal Sharma, will join the BJP in the presence ofNarendra Modi on Thursday.
Madhav also said that scrapping of Article 35A and deportingRohingyas are “on the agenda of BJP”.
On PDP leader Muzzafar Hussain Baig’s announcement ofextending legal help to Jamaat-e-Islami and JKLF to fight their cases incourts, Madhav said: “It is shameful for the Congress that it is siding withthose parties which are openly supporting JeI and JKLF.”