Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 19: Revolting against the party some senior leaders of BJP from Sunderbani in Rajouri district today announced not to work on any party post and disassociate themselves from all its activities in protest against what they called the double standards of the party leadership. However they maintained that they will continue to be the members of the party and not resign from its basic membership.
Talking to reporters at Sunderani near here, today Capt (retd) Om Dutt Sharma BJP ex district president Nowshera, along with other senior leaders of the party said that the BJP leadership has totally betrayed them and never took them into consideration whenever any decision was taken regarding the area.
Sharma said that they had worked hard in motivating former MLC, Surinder Choudhary to join the BJP a year back and it was their intension that the ex MLC who had secured 28,000 votes in last Assembly elections as PDP candidate despite the BJP wave in the UT could help in strengthening the party further in the area, but unfortunately for personnel reasons he has been forced to quit the party within a year. This has disheartened the party men in the area as everything happened against their wishes.
Sharma said the another grave issue which has disheartened the party men is that the people of Sunderbani feel totally betrayed after the Sunderbani was not declared a separate Assembly segment in the recent reorganization of the Assembly constituencies in the UT.
He said earlier Wazir Commission and Billowria Commission in their reports had recommended that Sunderbani be given a status of separate Assembly segment. He said instead of granting the separate Assembly constituency to Sunderbani the present Government included its seven Panchayats with Kalakote while others were kept as part of the Nowshera constituency. This way they divided the constituency and its people putting them to hardships and problems.
Sharma said this way the people of Sunderbani feel totally cheated as they had not met such kind of discrimination during the Congress and NC rule. Though the people of the constituency had high hopes that party president belonged to the area and this demand will be met easily but to our dismay the demand was rejected, he added.
Sharma said likewise in the selection of candidates for last DDC elections, the views of party leadership from the area were not considered by the president and when the official candidate lost the elections, the rebel candidate was brought in the party fold within 24 hours. But later fingers were also raised on him after he leveled allegations on party leadership and he too was harassed and humiliated, Sharma added.
Moreover, in selection of district president the name of candidate given by the party was not first considered on the plea that he has lost the election. The local leaders were asked to make search for another potential candidate and when they did the same he was too rejected and the one whose name was given by the local leaders earlier was appointed as district president.
Sharma said when the party men from Sunderbani and Nowshera took up this issue with UT leaders they said it was the decision of Sangathan. He said even a Samarak on the name of the martyrs was not considered despite it being a long pending demand of the people of the area. Dr Mohan Parishar, Bodh Raj, Om Parakash, Krishan Lal, Adarsh Bharti, Sham Mehra, Giyan Ji and Ashok Kumar all senior party activists were present in the press conference.