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| 'Amaranth land not agenda' | | BJP GIMMICK | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Nov 10: In Jammu, the Bhartiya Janta Party is not leaving any stone unturned in reaping the harvest of two-month long agitation, while in Kashmir party's senior leader and election incharge Shanta Kumar says that Amarnath land was not a poll issue for the organization.
Shanta Kumar addressed poorly attended public meetings in North Kashmir which still assume significance as BJP has never been able to reach Kashmir physically. The former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister said that the party was focusing on backwardness and unemployment.
However, in Jammu the three senior leaders who have been contesting on the key city seats –Ashok Khajuria, Chaman Lal Gupta and Nirmal Singh –have made the Amarnath land issue as their main plank. Not only this, the party decision to field Kuldeep Dogra's wife from Bishnah constituency was a desperate bid to cash in on the Amarnath land row.
Interestingly in Kashmir, the BJP today said it will fight the upcoming assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir by focussing on the state's "backwardness and unemployment" problems and not on the Amarnath land issue.
"It is not true that BJP is fighting elections in the state to take advantage of the situation arising out of Amarnath land row," senior leader and former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Shanta Kumar said here.
The then (Congress) government committed a blunder by revoking the order of land transfer to Amarnath Shrine Board and later corrected it following agitation. The issue ended there. There is no question of taking advantage of the situation now, he said.
"The party is fighting elections for a change and removal of backwardness, unemployment and corruption in the state," Kumar said.
Alleging that successive governments in the state failed to solve electricity and drinking water problems, Kumar asked people to provide an opportunity to his party to form the government.
"It is shame for the successive governments which could not provide basic amenities to the people even after 60 years of independence."
Kumar who addressed a workers rally at Bandipora in north Kashmir earlier in the day said he was surprised to see the backwardness of the area where women were traversing three to four kilometers to fetch water.
"In Himachal Pradesh, which receives 20 per cent less plan funds from the Centre, village is being provided with water and electricity," he said. |
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