Examiner Bureau | Jammu:
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will launch protests across districts of Jammu and Kashmir to highlight public grievances, Leader of Opposition and senior party leader Sunil Sharma said on Saturday, accusing the Omar Abdullah-led government of failing to address the concerns of ordinary people.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Sharma said the decision was taken at a meeting of BJP district presidents and general secretaries held earlier in the day. He said the party, as the principal Opposition, would take its campaign against the government to the streets.
Sharma alleged that the BJP had raised several public issues in the Legislative Assembly, but the government remained focused on internal matters and administrative reshuffles instead of addressing people’s concerns.
Commenting on the protests in Delhi, the BJP leader alleged that opposition parties were attempting to destabilise the country by mobilising young people. Drawing comparisons with unrest in Nepal and Bangladesh, he accused opposition leaders of targeting constitutional authorities, including Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
On the proposed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Sharma defended the exercise, saying foreign nationals from Bangladesh and Pakistan should not be allowed to vote in India. He argued that removing the names of deceased, shifted and untraceable voters from electoral rolls did not amount to “vote chori”.
Responding to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s criticism of the delimitation exercise, Sharma said the National Conference had benefited the most from the process, even if it was considered flawed. He also called on Abdullah to resign on moral grounds.
Sharma further accused the Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of adopting double standards and attempting to create political instability. He claimed that both parties had lost public support.
The BJP leader said his party would continue raising issues affecting people across Jammu and Kashmir and hold the government accountable for its performance.
