Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 7: Jammu and Kashmir’s Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary has strongly criticized the opposition BJP, accusing the party of diverting attention from the real issues in the Union Territory. His remarks came in response to BJP Leader of Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma’s statement about certain MLAs allegedly advocating for talks with Pakistan.
Choudhary stated, “Elections were held in J&K after six years. In the last decade, including the six years mentioned and the tenure of the BJP and the PDP, the people of J&K were ruined. The BJP does not talk about the real issues of J&K. Their only aim is to confuse the people and divert attention from the actual challenges. What has J&K gained after the scrapping of Article 370? They should answer to that.”
The Deputy CM also called on smaller media organizations to avoid changing the narrative and misleading the public. Addressing concerns over the upcoming budget, Choudhary assured that it would meet the expectations of the people of J&K. “The budget will be framed according to the intentions with which the people of J&K voted for the leaders of the National Conference,” he added.
This latest political exchange began when BJP leader Sunil Sharma raised concerns about comments made in the J&K Legislative Assembly regarding discussions on talks with Pakistan, and comparisons between the development conditions in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and the Union Territory. Sharma also expressed alarm at remarks that could be seen as “glorifying” Pakistan.
In a letter to J-K Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather on March 6, Sharma urged action against remarks that he felt undermined national integrity. He warned that such statements posed a serious threat to India’s sovereignty and security and were detrimental to Jammu and Kashmir’s broader interests. Sharma further urged the Speaker to expunge any remarks deemed inflammatory or prejudicial to national unity from the Assembly’s official records.
Sharma also expressed concern that “patriotic statements” made in the interest of national security were being expunged from the records, while statements sympathetic to or glorifying Pakistan remained unchallenged.