Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 25: Things are not inspiring and promising for the BJP in Jammu, which only some three years ago created a history of sorts by wining all the three Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Ladakh, 25 assembly seats in Jammu and dethroning the Congress and capturing the prestigious Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh.
On the one hand, bulk of Jammu province is on the boil with people of Kathua, Chadwal, Dayalachak, Hiranagar, Mareen, Rassana, Kootah, Samba, RS Pura, Akhnoor, Sunderbani, Kalakot and Nowshera on the roads condemning the BJP and accusing it of going back on its promises it solemnly held out during the 2014 election campaign and through its Vision Document. The situation has now climaxed to the point that the estranged people are openly confronting the police and accusing the BJP of betraying the mandate for the sake of power.
Some of the main demands of the people of the agitating people include (1) grant district status to RS Pura, Akhnoor, Sunderbani-Kalakot-Nowshera; (2) deport Rohingya-Bangladeshis from Jammu; (3) hand over the alleged Kathua murder case to the CBI; (4) withdraw the government orders which allowed tribal community to grab the state and forest land in Jammu and encouraged bovine smuggling; and (5) end "demographic invasion on Jammu
As if the developments unfolding in Jammu were not enough to upset the BJP's applecart, the BJP unit in Ladakh too has revolted against the party leadership and accused it of betraying the people of Ladakh and going back on its commitment that, if voted to power, it would grant UT status to Ladakh and abrogate Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.
It was none other than the lone Ladakh BJP MP Thupstan Chhewang who upped the ante against the BJP and charged it with sharing power with the PDP, which, he on Saturday claimed, was the "political organ of the Hurriyat Conference".
Terming the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a "political front" of the Hurriyat Conference and separatists, the Ladakh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Thupstan Chhewang on Saturday asserted that "some prominent ministers in the state government are making attempts to sabotage the popular demand for Union Territory (UT) status to Ladakh".
Thupstan Chhewang even went to the extent of saying that Ladakh was going the Lakshdweep way. "The right-thinking people in Kargil too understand the importance of UT status to Ladakh as it would change the developmental landscape of the region. We want to convince them that if Ladakh is not granted UT status, it will be another Muslim majority UT after Lakshdweep," Chhewang was quoted as saying.
As for Article 370 and the BJP's u-turn on its promise was concerned, Thupstan reportedly said: "Article 370 was the main stumbling block for the grant of UT status. There were hopes that the party (BJP) would take a call on abrogation of Article 370 after coming to power at the Centre. However, the party did opposite and formed a government in J&K with a party which was the political front of the Hurriyat Conference and separatists".
The BJP needs to sit up to find why the people of Jammu and Ladakh are drifting away from it and challenging its very credentials. It's a must. It will suffer reverses in 2019 if continued to let down Jammu and Ladakh, its only constituencies in the state. |
