Mir Farhat/Avtar Bhat
SRINAGAR/ JAMMU, Oct 25: While terming the continuous shelling from across the border, a result of weak Government at the Centre, Bhartiya Janta Party today demanded that Pakistan should be given a “befitting” reply and “taught a lesson” for repeated ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
“It is totally not acceptable (to BJP). Enough is enough. We demand that Pakistan must be given a befitting reply and taught a lesson, even by political tools,” BJP national spokesperson, Prakash Javadekar, told reporters during a news conference in Srinagar.
Javadekar said peace talks between India and Pakistan could not go simultaneously when ceasefire violations are raked up time and again.
“You cannot have peace talks and terrorism go simultaneously. Whole Pakistan policy is Kashmir centric … what has remained (unresolved) between India and Pakistan is the issue of Pakistan supporting terrorism,” the BJP leader said. He was referring to the recent meeting between Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief and Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York.
“The peace process cannot go along ceasefire violations, and they are meaningless when terrorism is going on. Many of Indian soldiers have been killed even when talks were taking place between the two Prime Ministers. “Even yesterday the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said he is disappointed with Pakistan. This is Pakistan’s continuous activity and they will continue to disappoint you unless you take a firm action, Mr. Prime Minister,” the BJP spokesman said.
Javadekar said the ceasefire violation continued even during the visit of Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir to the border in Jammu region, Pakistan pounded the borders.
“200 ceasefire violations have taken place in two months…it has become a daily affair and we must deal give such a tough message that Pakistan does not dare it again,” said the BJP leader.
Javadekar also questioned the statement of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi that Intelligence Bureau has briefed him that ISI was luring youth towards terrorism in Muzaffarnagar.
In the same breath, Javadekar flayed the Chief Minister’s statement in which he had said that Kashmiri youth relate themselves to Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat.
“I will say no… Kashmiri youth relates to Shammi who took three wickets yesterday (against Australia), Parvez Rasool and the IAS tooper (Shah Faesal). So these are the icons of the Kashmiri youth not the terrorists,” he said.
The BJP leader said the Congress Government at the Centre and the State Government in Jammu and Kashmir have failed to address the aspirations of the youth who want progress and prosperity, when asked that youth in Kashmir might not corroborate to what he has “speculated” about them that they consider cricketers and bureaucrats as their icons.
The BJP leader said the Home Minister must answer that what action the Government was taking on Rahul Gandhi for making such statements that IB was briefing him.
Javadekar also slammed the Prime Minister’s statement for saying that he was ready for questioning by CBI in Coalgate scam. “PM is saying this knowing that CBI is controlled by Congress and he will get a clean chit form them just like Pawan Bansal in Railway case.”
Meanwhile, in Jammu, the BJP national spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi today alleged that the violation of ceasefire at border by Pakistan is the result of weak Government at Centre.
Talking to reporters here, today she said whenever the Government was weak at New Delhi Pakistan took an advantage of that and resorted to border shelling. She said the agreement on ceasefire made during the NDA regime with Pakistan in 2003 is being violated fully and yesterday two women were injured in this side of border due to Pak shelling which is a cause of concern.
She said India has Parliament resolution of 1994 of getting PoK back from Pakistan and it should tell Pakistan in unequivocal and strong terms to vacate the parts of J&K forcibly occupied by it and stop border shelling.
Ms Lekhi said that those who are raising fingers on accession and merger should read Article 3, 5 and 147 of J&K Constitution. She took strong exception to the recent statement of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah challenging the merger of State with Indian Union. This is an unlawful act and those members of legislature who challenge the merger are liable to loose the membership of the House, she added.
Lambasting the Congress general secretary, Rahul Gandhi she said that he was communalising the situation in the country by his speeches. She also questioned his statement that ISI has links with some people in the country.
She said the Congress leader while quoting IB should reveal who gave him this information as per protocol IB can’t leak the information to him but to PM or HM only.
If the report is based on facts then why the Congress led UPA continue dialogue with Pakistan and why the Congress leaders have given clean chit to ISI, she added.
Lekhi said the main problems like corruption, rising prices, unemployment closure of professional colleges are not on the agenda of the Congress but it is communalising the situation during the electioneering in the states. She made an appeal to Election Commission of India to take a strong note of the same and act against the party leaders.
She also ridiculed Mr Gandhi’s statements saying that his grand mother and father were killed and there was threat to his life also. She termed these statements totally childish.
On the Coal scam she said if the PM has seriousness of purpose he should step down and pave a way for CBI probe independently. She said the price rise was due to wrong policies and programmes of Government.
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