STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Infuriated over the State Government for doling out premium to the anti-nationals and subversives in the Valley while disparaging the martyrs and nationalists, a strong contingent of Panther activists spearheaded by Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP staged a protest at Exhibition Ground, here on Friday.
The agitated protestors while accusing the BJP of placating the secessionist forces for saving its alliance with PDP torched its effigy amidst anti-government and anti BJP slogans.
While addressing the media, Harsh said that it was a shot in the arm of subversives and anti- national elements when CM Mehbooba Mufti ordered the withdrawal of 744 cases of stone pelting against 4,327 youths in Kashmir a couple of days ago. He accused the BJP of bowing before the dictates of PDP which instead of taking punitive action against the anti- national elements preferred to take forward the suggestion made by its interlocutor to release 4500 first time stone pelters and drop cases against them as amnesty in a bid to appease the separatists. He said that BJP had been hand in glove with its ally in doling out premiums to the stone pelters and glorifying the militants in the Kashmir Valley.
Deploring further, he recalled nasty order to pay compensation of Rs. 10 lakh to the ring leader of stone pelters Farooq Dar who was responsible to cause unrest during the by-elections of Parliamentary seat in Srinagar. He rued that hundreds of nationalists who were detained during Amarnath land row were still languishing in jails and those who laid down their lives in the agitation had been dishonoured and forgotten by the BJP partnered government.
“It had registered several police cases against those who raised slogans of ‘Vande Matram’ in Rajouri and also those students of NIT Srinagar who unfurled National flag in Srinagar. The BJP in J&K along with its partner PDP persistently disparaged the martyrs and glorified the militants only to tow the secessionist agenda for remaining glued to power. As such, the Saffron party owed an explanation to the people of the country for its change of heart over the release of stone pelters in Kashmir which had drawn severe criticism and condemnation from everywhere”, said Harsh. He sought an immediate revocation of the devilish announcement in the interest of the State’s integrity.
Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Rajesh Padgotra, Gagan Partap Singh, Shanker Singh Chib, Shiv Nath Ex-Sarpanch, Shakti Singh, Neeraj Gupta, Sansar Chand, Ravinder Jamwal, Rashpaul Singh, Rohit Sharma, Capt. Narotam Singh, Ranjeet Singh, Vishav Singh, Udhayveer Sambyal and Joginder Singh.