Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Apr 14: A day after completely surrendering the interests of Jammu by succumbing to “misleading” national media coverage and pressurizing tactics of its Alliance partner, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the BJP said today that there was no threat to the PDP-BJP coalition Government as it forwarded resignations of Forests Minister Choudhary Lal Singh and Industry & Commerce Minister Chander Prakash Ganga to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for further submitting them to Governor NN Vohra for acceptance.
Majority of the people here were of the view that they wanted justice to be done to the family of eight year old minor Rassana girl, who was raped and brutally murdered and it was in this context that they were asking for CBI probe so that the real culprits could be brought to book. However, they asserted that the BJP national as well as State unit leadership has completely let down the people of Jammu by compromising with the demand of CBI probe and instead asking its two Ministers to resign, who had supported the demand voiced by the people of Rassana in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district, for such an inquiry.
Click here to Watch Video
“The resignations will turn out to be last nail in the coffin of BJP, which has been making compromise after compromise with the interests of Jammu people, who had given the party massive mandate in the form of 25 Assembly seats out of 37 and both Lok Sabha seats of the region, for the sake of sticking to the power,” a large number of people, interviewed by the Excelsior on resignations of the Ministers, said.
BJP national general secretary and party’s pointman on Jammu and Kashmir, who separately met Lal Singh and Ganga and then chaired party’s Legislature Party meeting, told a press conference that there was no pressure or ultimatum given to the BJP by its coalition partner PDP on the resignations, and declared that the PDP-BJP coalition Government was not facing any problem and will continue to work.
“The PDP-BJP Government is not being dictated by anyone. The Government is working on Agenda of Alliance (AoA). We are taking developmental agenda forward. Lot of development has taken place in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh during last three years,” he said.
He also announced that resignations of Lal and Ganga will be forwarded to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti this afternoon by the BJP State unit president Sat Sharma for further decision. He said that even the BJP office bearers, who have affiliated with the `Hindu Ekta Manch’ in Hiranagar have been removed from the party posts.
Admitting that the two Ministers displayed indiscretion by taking part in the rally, Madhav made it clear that there was no attempt to sabotage the investigations as charged by the Congress party.
“The charge that the two Ministers were pro-rapists is absolutely wrong. It was sheer indiscretion on their part,” he said.
“However, after this, there was concern in the entire country about the ghastly crime committed on the little girl…Therefore, keeping in mind the perception and general situation, the two BJP leaders, after holding consultations with the Prime Minister and other senior leaders of the party, decided to submit their resignations,” Madhav said.
Rejecting reports that there was any pressure from his alliance partner PDP for withdrawal of the two Ministers, Madhav quipped: “no pressure, no ultimatum from any quarter including the PDP. This is all your figment of imagination”.
Asked whether a dent has been created in the Alliance after the Kathua rape-and-murder issue, Madhav said, “As far as this case is concerned, we have done our bit by allaying the fears and misconception created in the minds of people of Jammu and Kashmir but also in the entire country by asking our two Ministers to resign. Beyond that I don’t think there will be any impact of this incident or these developments on the coalition.”
“Rest for the ‘baayan bazi’ (making statements) we have been receiving in last couple of days, we will wait for the PDP to take a view on that and convey what is the view of the leadership. Right now I am talking about Kathua rape incident,” he said.
Madhav cautioned that there should be no communal politics played over the ghastly crime and everyone should ensure speedy justice and exemplary punishment to the culprits.
He accused the Congress party of playing double standards. “In Jammu, the Congress leaders are casting aspersion over the probe and their senior leaders were creating law and order situation through Bar Council,” he alleged.
“Certain amount of discretion should have been maintained. Certainly, there was a lack of discretion. Sometimes lack of discretion does not tantamount of any guilt…That has led to certain misconceptions about them (two Ministers) also, so they decided they will quit as Ministers,” Madhav responded when he was asked about a pointed question that the two Ministers had termed the action of the Crime Branch as “jungle raj” and warned police from arresting anyone.
On the plea for a CBI probe saying the investigations have been completed in three months and a charge sheet has been submitted in the court. “It is up to the court now to decide.”
Madhav, who was the pointman for the BJP in forging the alliance with PDP, said the two Ministers had been sent to Kathua to pacify the people who were agitated after the incident. However, there was some amount of indiscretion on the part of the Ministers for which they had to resign, he said.
To a question that the two Ministers had participated in the rally in support of the accused in the rape case where the national tricolor was being used, Madhav said, “That is why they had to resign. During my visit last month here, I made it clear to everyone that in this matter no one speaks and let us allow the investigations to complete.”
He said the Mehbooba Mufti-led coalition Government in the State has been told to withdraw the directive concerning Tribal with regard to encroachments, which has been raked by the Bar Association of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court as threat to the demography of Jammu.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in February this year had directed police and district administrations not to provide “police protection” for anti-encroachment drives that are being carried out by Government departments against tribal population without prior approval of the Tribal Affairs Department resulting in setback to encroachment drives of Government.
“The directive (of Tribal Affairs Department) issued to different districts must be withdrawn. This we have told the Government already. The directive…Must be withdrawn”, Madhav said while replying to a question about the demographic changes in Jammu due to settlement of Rohingya refugees and Tribal’s on encroached State lands in Jammu city, which are two major concerns of minority Dogras of Jammu.
“There has been very clear and consistent stand of the BJP on these two issues (deportation of Rohingya refugees and massive encroachments and settlement on State lands by tribal people),” Madhav said.
The BJP leader said that as far Rohingyas were concerned, the Union Home Ministry was seized of the matter and effective steps would be taken “very soon”.
Asked about the demand for a CBI probe into the incident, the BJP leader said, “The police has completed the probe and now it is in the court of law. It is for the court to decide.”
Replying to a question on resignation of former Finance Minister Dr Haseeb Drabu, Madhav said: “Drabu is my good friend. We have worked together in drafting Agenda of Alliance. He will serve people as a MLA now”.
Earlier, on his arrival here, Ram Madhav met Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga separately and reportedly told them that he pleaded their case before the national leadership that they had gone to Rassana on the directions of the State party unit. However, he reportedly said, the Central party leadership wanted the Ministers to quit in view of national outrage over the incident.
The two Ministers told Madhav that they had gone to Rassana on directions of the party leadership to persuade the people, who had migrated en-masse from the village to return by assuring them that their demands and grievances would be projected before the leadership.
Madhav is reported to have told the BJP Ministers that media hype over the incident and stand taken by the Central leadership compelled him to ask the Ministers to resign and that the BJP hasn’t succumbed to any kind of pressure from the PDP.
Sources said at the BJP meeting, number of MLAs openly favoured CBI probe into Rassana rape-cum-murder.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
