STATE TIMES NEWS
Jammu: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah is attempting to communalise the situation in Jammu and Kashmir by “deceitfully” trying to connect power cuts with Sehri and Namaz, the BJP alleged on Monday.
Abdullah on Wednesday had said that electricity supply is deliberately being curtailed at Sehri and Iftar hours to hassle the Muslim community observing the holy month of Ramzan.
Reacting to the NC vice president’s statement, the chief spokesperson of BJP’s Jammu and Kashmir unit, Sunil Sethi, said finally the National Conference has “thrown away its false clothing of secularism and its communal face with fangs have come out”.
“This is a deliberate attempt (by Abdullah) to communalise the situation in Jammu and Kashmir by deceitfully trying to connect power cuts with the holy month of Ramzan, in Sehri and Namaz. This was a well thought of design to mislead and misguide a particular religion against the government for petty political gains”: Sunil Sethi told reporters here.
The BJP had also requested the administration to improve power supply. But it cannot be forgotten that power supply is affected largely because of the defective policies of previous regimes that have left huge outstanding arrears, he claimed.
The NC leader had said that “curtailment of electricity at Sehri and Iftar hours is being deliberately done to hassle us”.
“Are you playing with our sentiments? If your intention is not to play with our sentiments, then give power during Sehri and Iftar hours and cut it at other hours of the day,” Abdullah had said.
Noting that there had been no opposition to Abdullah’s statements by the constituents of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), Sethi said,” This is a dangerous trend which will further radicalise the situation but unfortunately the PAGD has gone low in politics with eye on the coming (assembly) elections.”
He said such communal tirades have no place in the tolerant society of Jammu and Kashmir and alleged that these are yet another attempt to engineer violence.
Taking exception to Abdullah questioning the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Union, the BJP leader said, “The decision to accede to India was taken by the ruler of the state as was done in cases of other states. Omar has forgotten history as to how killings and tortures and destruction of property had been done by Pakistani invaders to Kashmir.”
The BJP stands for brotherhood amongst all nationalists belonging to different religions and will oppose all attempts to weaken the secular fibre of mutual co-existence, Sethi said.