Devender Singh Rana, a senior BJP leader, called a Farooq Abdullah-led meeting of more than a dozen parties a “non-event,” saying it was an assembly of “rejected politicians” alarmed by Jammu and Kashmir’s progress towards peace and development, news agency PTI reported.
The meeting, presided over by former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference president Abdullah, resulted in a decision to meet with the Election Commission in Delhi to discuss an early assembly election in the Union Territory and the restoration of statehood.
The three-hour meeting, held at his residence, also resulted in a decision to meet with national leaders from the Opposition camp in Delhi, according to the report.
Describing the meet as a “non-event”, Rana, a former legislator, said it was an assembly of “rejected, dejected, confused and frustrated politicians who are unnerved over the momentous changes brought in Jammu and Kashmir under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that have steered the Union Territory from a dark alley of death, destruction and gloom to become a bright, resurgent, peaceful and developing part of the country,” PTI reported.
“The opposition cannot disrupt Jammu and Kashmir’s tryst with peace and normalcy,” he added and advised those part of the meet “not to take the role of agent provocateurs to mislead the public for pursuing their malicious political agenda”.
Peace and normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir are a threat to their political existence, he claims, and they see a rat in everything done for the sake of the Union Territory, the report said.
Politically mature individuals recognise the tricks of self-seeking political actors who will go to any length to be relevant in politics, according to Rana, as stated in the report.
As per the report, the BJP leader further claimed that the conference was of all those who have “acquired an interest over the decades in boiling Kashmir to bake their political bread and perpetuate their enterprise” and advised them to reject “opposition for the sake of opposition”.
Speaking to tourism in Kashmir, Rana said last year, the Valley experienced record tourist footfall that was inexplicable years ago when the region was pushed to a “dark alley of bandhs and stone pelting”.
The situation has now completely shifted, with economic activity gaining traction, development gaining traction, and people’s engagement in governance becoming more visible, according to the BJP leader.
(With Inputs From PTI)
