We are not communal, says BJP in Srinagar

Srinagar: Attempting to make inroads into Kashmir Valley, BJP today said it was not “communal” and Islam will grow “better” under its regime if the party is voted to power in the state.

“This notion that BJP is a communal party is wrong.  Kashmir is the land of Sufi saints and Islam will grow better during our regime,” BJP leader and party in-charge of Kashmir affairs, Ramesh Arora told reporters here.  Arora said though a state has no religion, everyone had a right to propagate his religion and there should be no political interference in it.

“The state as such has no religion but we (BJP) respect all religions and pledge religious freedom to all as guaranteed in the Constitution.

“Everyone has a right to propagate his religion and there should be no political interference in it,” he said.  The BJP state vice-president said the party's stand on the Article 370 of the Constitution, which guarantees a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, was clear and it wants a debate over it.

“We have a clear stand on Article 370, which Modi and other leaders of the party have made specifically clear that we want debate and discussions on the issue.  “If people think it benefits them, then let it be but if they say it has not benefitted them, we will proceed accordingly,” he said.

The BJP leader said that “political terrorism”, among other factors, was responsible for the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the politicians in the state had been “exploiting” the people in all the three regions for their benefits.  

“Among other factors, political terrorism is responsible for the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. There is political sponsored terrorism in the unrest that happened in the state and in last elections as well. We do not want to run the things like that,” Arora said.

He said people of the state had understood that BJP is the only option to take the state forward towards development and prosperity.

“There has been large scale corruption which has lead to unemployment, non-development and big projects not taking off here. People have now understood that BJP is the only option to take the state forward towards development and prosperity,” he said.

The BJP leader said the Assembly polls in the state were of “historical importance” as BJP was on its way to become an important player in the politics of the state.  “This poll is of historical importance as this is the first time that BJP is cruising ahead to achieve its Mission 44 Plus to be an important player,” he said.  Arora said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was committed to change the situation in the state.

“Modi has shown his commitment, with honesty and with an open heart just like Atal Behari Vajpayee had, to change the situation in Jammu and Kashmir like rest of the country. You saw how he visited the state after the floods and announced packages,” he said.

Arora said the party's fight will be against the “administrative and political injustice” in the state.  “Our fight is against the bureaucratic and administrative injustice, against the political and police injustice and BJP will check that,” he said.

Asked about RSS's campaign for the BJP, Arora said,”If anyone wants to campaign for us, how can we stop them?” “Not only RSS, there are some Muslim clerics who are with us. We cannot tell them to not support us,” he said.  Reacting to JK Pradesh Congress Committee chief Saif-ud-din Soz's assertion that there was a danger to the country because of the politics of the BJP, Arora said the Congress leader had “gone mad”.

“Soz has gone mad. This is the fear psychosis in them that they say these things. An atmosphere is being built that there is a danger to Kashmiriyat from BJP. The real danger is from those who say these things.

“The politicians have been exploiting the people in all the three regions of the state and the BJP wants to stop the exploitation of the people,” he said.

Addressing a rally in north Kashmir's Bandipora district yesterday, Soz said Congress wants to keep the unity and brotherhood in the country intact, but there was a “danger” to the country because of the politics of Modi.