| Jammu's political scene BJP intensifies campaign against NC, Congress | | |
Rustam
JAMMU, Apr 12: The BJP, which was not in a good shape for quite sometime, has suddenly become pro-active. It has, it seems, realised that the situation is quite conducive for taking on and exposing the NC-Congress coalition Government and its "anti-national" and anti-Jammu policies. In fact, it became active the day the budget session of the Assembly started on February 28. The suspension of Jugal Kishore Sharma from the Assembly, who is also president of the State unit of the BJP, had further angered the BJP leadership.
The budget session started under a very surcharged situation in the sense that the Kashmir-based parties, including the ruling NC, had vitiated the whole atmosphere by giving a communal twist to the otherwise lawful hanging of Jaish-e-Mohammad operative and Kashmiri terrorist Afzal Guru, convicted in the Parliament attack case. The Kashmir parties did all this for vote-bank politics and in the process brought bad name to the country and undermined the legislature.
The official BJP, which has four MLAs, along with other Jammu parties, including NPP and JSM, did all that they could in the Assembly to expose both the NC and the Congress. Besides, the party organised a number of protest demonstrations outside the Assembly at different places in Jammu province with a view to identifying it with the people's sentiment. The themes of criticism against the NC and the Congress were two. One was that the NC-Congress coalition Government had painted India black and that it did not adopt resolutions on the lines of the March 15 Parliamentary resolution on Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan and on Chamel Singh, who was murdered and mutilated by the Pakistani jailers inside the Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore, in January this year. The other was that the NC-Congress coalition Government had systematically harmed Jammu province and its people, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs included, and perpetrated injustice after injustice on them.
The most significant aspect of the protest demonstrations which were held under the banner of BJP across Jammu province was the participation of women on a large scale. In fact, some of the protests were held by the women wing of the party.
Similarly, the youth wing of the BJP, BJYM, too had become very active. It, along with senior BJP leaders and BJP Mahila Morcha, also held a number of protest demonstrations and the process is still on. In fact, the BJYM has launched a campaign against the NC and the Congress. Its main target is, of course, the Congress party, as the party strategists believe that its principle political rival in Jammu province's 24 Hindu-majority constituencies is the Congress party.
Yesterday, it kick-started month-long Yuva Adhikar Yatra (YAY) and announced that it would take on the Congress for maintaining silence on the issue of Afzal Guru. The Yatra will cover the entire State. Its leadership made its intentions clear when it said while launching the Yatra that it will target the Congress because it is a part of the Government that has "crossed all limits to appease secessionists and anti-national forces". The BJP leadership also made it loud and clear that it will raise with full force the issue of "discrimination with Jammu and Ladakh" and expose the Congress, which, according to them, has "bartered the Jammu's legitimate rights and interests to enjoy power". The upshot of the speeches that the BJP leaders, including party president and BJYM president, made was that the real "culprit is the Congress". "The real culprit in the prevailing situation is the Congress," the BJP leaders said.
Indeed, the situation as it prevails today in Jammu province is quite favourable for the BJP and the NPP. Both the parties can turn the tables on the Congress party provided they remain active on the ground. Even otherwise, the wind is blowing against the Congress across the country.
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