STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: PDP maybe keen on talks with separatists in Jammu and Kashmir but a leader of its ally BJP on Sunday hit out at hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani calling him a “political thug” who is not relevant in the state anymore.
“People like Geelani are political thugs but their thuggery is no more relevant now. Their terrorist masters from whom they draw power and sustenance stand exposed internationally,” BJP state spokesman Khalid Jehangir said in a statement.
Mehbooba Mufti will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of the PDP-BJP government which will be guided by the Agenda of Alliance, which includes holding dialogue with separatists.
Jehangir was reacting to Geelani’s statement on the incident in the NIT where two groups of students clashed following Indian cricket teams defeat against West Indies in the ongoing World T20 Cup.
“While harassment of Kashmir students outside the state has become a routine, similar incident happening at home is shocking for me. This is not possible without the backing of state machinery. We smell a rat in the whole episode. If state machinery is found involved, we will conduct a meeting to plan a future course of action against it,” Geelani had said in a statement.
Jehangir dismissed the Hurriyat leader’s remarks, saying, “They have led young boys to battlefields and graveyards while their own kith and kin are living luxurious lives. The blood thirst of Geelani and others still seems to have not been quenched. They should spare Jammu and Kashmir now.”
The BJP spokesman said raising pro-India slogans is a fundamental right of every Indian citizen and no one can stop any citizen from hoisting the tricolor and raising such slogans in Kashmir as the state is an integral part of the country.
“Separatists, including Geelani, should stop day dreaming about Pakistan and Azadi. They have been taking people for a ride for the past 25 years and are responsible for the bloodshed and killings. India is a democratic country…that’s why people like Geelani are being tolerated despite their anti-India rant. For similar actions they would have been beheaded in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia,” he said.
