Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 18: The BJP lawmakers are a divided house. They are speaking differently on the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) under which the Army and others involved in anti-insurgency operations in the state enjoy legal immunity. Earlier, the stand of the BJP was that the AFSPA must continue, as the Army could not discharge their duty in its absence. Even the Common Minimum Programme (CMP), which was adopted by the PDP and the BJP after two-month-long deliberations, says that the final decision on the continuation or otherwise of the AFSPA would be taken by the Central government - a condition that was described by many in Kashmir and outside as a dilution in the PDP's stand on this legislation that enables the armed forces to maintain internal security and the victory of the BJP over the PDP.
However, during the last two days, two BJP lawmakers - one from Kashmir and the other from Jammu - made contradictory statements on the AFSPA. In fact, the lawmaker from Jammu contradicted his Kashmiri counterpart within 24 hours.
On March 16, BJP MLC from Kashmir Sofi Yousuf had said that the BJP was in favour of partial revocation of the law from the peaceful areas of the state.
"BJP is with it. Wherever there is a need to lift AFSPA, it can be removed from there. Where there is no need of lifting it, it would not be withdrawn," newly-elected MLC and BJP leader Sofi Yousef had reportedly said. At the same time, he had said that the AFSPA must not be withdrawn from Kashmir, saying the situation in the Valley was not peaceful. "I feel that it should not end in the areas where there is a danger to people and danger to nation...As our CM (Mufti Mohammad Sayeed) has said, where we feel the necessity to remove it, there we could lift it," he had said.
Within 24 hours, BJP MLA from Nowshera and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) President Ravinder Raina contradicted Sofi and said that the AFSPA must not be revoked or withdrawn. "It is high time to strengthen the powers of our armed forces, especially army. We will not allow this act to be revoked," he told reporters in the secretariat after taking oath as MLA. He made this definite statement in response to a question. He said in unambiguous terms that the Centre could not take any decision on it unilaterally, as the continuation of the AFSPA in the state was a must to defeat the nefarious designs of the anti-India forces. |
