Examiner Bureau | Jammu:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin on Monday asserted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir “got their real freedom” in 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi abrogated Articles 370 and 35A, describing the move as the fulfilment of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s vision of complete integration of the erstwhile state with the rest of the country.
Addressing a Karyakarta Sammelan and public rally organised to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Mookerjee at Mishriwala on the outskirts of Jammu, Nabin said the transformation in Jammu and Kashmir since 2019 was evident and could only be denied by those with “blinkered vision.”
“The Tricolour flying proudly at Lal Chowk and across Jammu and Kashmir reflects the change brought about under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” he said, while criticising the Congress for its handling of the region during its tenure at the Centre and in the erstwhile state government.
Nabin alleged that before 2014, the Congress-led governments had discouraged the hoisting of the national flag in Kashmir, citing law and order concerns. He contrasted that period with the present, claiming that national symbols are now freely displayed across the Union Territory.
Recalling his participation in the Rashtriya Ekta Yatra in 2011 as the then national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), Nabin claimed that the yatra was prevented from entering Jammu and Kashmir and that curfew had been imposed to stop the unfurling of the Tricolour at Lal Chowk.
He further alleged that permission to hoist the national flag was denied by the then administration on the grounds that it would disturb peace, while claiming that Pakistan’s flag was visible at Lal Chowk during that period.
Targeting the Congress, Nabin said that had the party remained in power, the youth of Jammu and Kashmir would still have been identified with stone-pelting rather than achievements in sports and other fields.
Describing July 6 as a significant day for Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP president paid tribute to Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, saying he sacrificed his life for the complete integration of the region under “one Constitution and one flag.” He also recalled the efforts of Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Narendra Modi, before he became Prime Minister, to hoist the Tricolour at Lal Chowk.
Expressing satisfaction over what he termed the fulfilment of Dr Mookerjee’s vision, Nabin also noted that the BJP was expanding its political footprint in West Bengal, the birthplace of the party ideologue.
Earlier in the day, Nabin, who is on his maiden visit to Jammu and Kashmir after assuming office as BJP national president in January this year, received a warm welcome at Jammu Airport. He was received by J&K BJP president Sat Sharma, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh, Leader of Opposition in the J&K Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma, MP Jugal Kishore Sharma and other senior party leaders.
Enthusiastic BJP workers lined the route from the airport to the rally venue, greeting the party chief with bouquets, flower petals and drum beats. Before addressing the gathering, Nabin joined senior BJP leaders in lighting the ceremonial lamp and paying floral tributes to Dr Mookerjee.
As part of his two-day visit, Nabin is scheduled to chair a meeting of party office-bearers at the BJP headquarters in Trikuta Nagar and offer prayers at Shri Raghunath Temple. On Tuesday, he will visit the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, interact with BJP MPs, MLAs and former elected representatives, and participate in a youth outreach programme titled Yuva Samvad at the Convention Centre in Jammu.
