Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 7: Making a scathing attack on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its leadership former Minister and MLA Udhampur, Pawan Gupta today said that during the second part of coalition framed between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and BJP series of incidents took place which revealed that BJP has shelved its values which it was championing for years together.
Talking to reporters here, today Mr Gupta said that this totally reveals that BJP has merged with PDP and the stand of the party on recent NIT issue is an indication in this regard. He wanted to know who allowed the police to enter into NIT campus in Srinagar and what was the role of BJP in this regard which has been an alliance partner in the Government. The students were lathicharged and beaten ruthlessly for upholding Tricolur and Chanting of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, he added.
Accusing BJP of coming on back foot on NIT issue, he said the Government ordered an inquiry on lathicharge on the students by DC Srinagar and later that inquiry has also been shelved.
Mr Gupta said such a situation was created in NIT at Srinagar that its students were forced to leave Kashmir and their exodus from campus is akin to exodus of Kashmiri Pandits which took place in 1989-90. The BJP is totally silent on the issue, he added.
Lambasting the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, Mr Gupta said, he could have visited the campus and met the students there. Accusing the Government of double standards, he said the Union HRD Minister had issued an order that Tricolor be hoisted in each and every campus and why the BJP and its ministers are mum on NIT issue where the students were not allowed to hoist the Tricolor.
The Government was so callous towards these students that the FIR was registered against them and same has not been with drawn till date. While comparing the Srinagar NIT issue with that of JNU, he said in JNU the police do not enter into the camps and media is allowed while in NIT Srinagar police enters the campus and Media is barred.
He said even police failed to arrest assailants of NIT students and Government owes an explanation to the nation on it.
While referring to recent Handwara episode, he said this Government is demoralizing security forces as on Handwara issue Government tried to defame the army without taking cognizance of the fact that the separatists were trying to set the army bunker ablaze. The Deputy CM visited Handwara but not cared to see the injured police and army personnel, he added.
This shows that BJP has not only surrendered to PDP but indicates that the Party is going to merge into PDP.
The BJP failed to provide justice to West Pak refugees, victims of Kishtwar riots of 2013, he said, adding the tax on air tickets to Vaishno Mata pilgrims he had taken a stand and wrote a dissent note and on my stand the Government promised to roll back but they did not.
Maintaining that he got a decisive mandate against the Modi wave Gupta challenged the BJP national general secretary, Ram Madhav saying “it was he (Madhav) who begged my vote for RS seat and promised the Cabinet berth to me when there was no condition from my side in exchange of vote to BJP candidate”.
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