Army being demonised in Kashmir: Advani
November 16th, 2011 - 7:47 pm ICT by IANS
Jammu, Nov 16 (IANS) Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani Wednesday said the Army is being “demonised” in Jammu and Kashmir and charged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah with undertaking measures to weaken the anti-terror mechanism in the state.
Advani was here in connection with his Jan Chetna Yatra, a journey of mass awakening against corruption.
During his speech at a public rally here, attended by around 3,000 people, Advani was particularly harsh at Omar Abdullah. He said the chief minister did not have any idea as to how insurgencies are tackled.
Taking strong exception to the campaign for removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from parts of the state, the BJP leader said the “army is being demonised and the army is being considered a problem”.
“The fact is that it is because of the sacrifices of the Indian army, people like the chief minister are safe and it would be better on his part to leave the AFSPA issue to the army.”
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been pressing for removal of AFSPA from parts of Jammu and Kashmir and has met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and other leaders in that connection. The act, which provides sweeping powers to the armed forces, was invoked in the Valley in 1990 and the Jammu region in 2001.
The BJP has been at the receiving end since April when seven out of its 11 legislators indulged in cross-voting. The party is trying to revive itself in Jammu region and Wednesday’s show of Advani was a major effort in that direction.
Advani said his party would not hesitate in “launching another agitation if there was any attempt to restore autonomy to the state”.
The National Conference is pitching for restoration of greater autonomy to the state, which means reverting to the pre-1953 status when the state had almost complete sovereignty and control over all affairs, except defence, communication and foreign affairs.
The BJP is an advocate of abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution that grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian union.
- BJP legislators demand Omar's resignation - Dec 13, 2011
- Removing AFSPA no reflection on army, says Omar - Oct 27, 2011
- Azad backs Omar on AFSPA's partial removal - Nov 10, 2011
- Omar briefs cabinet on Delhi talks on AFSPA - Nov 24, 2011
- Don't remove AFSPA from Kashmir: Jaitley - Oct 28, 2011
- Kashmir problem is Nehru's special gift to India: Advani - Jun 26, 2011
- Omar meets Antony on AFSPA ahead of state cabinet meet - Nov 13, 2011
- Omar for denotifying disturbed areas in Kashmir - Dec 02, 2011
- Omar should quit at the earliest: Advani - Oct 17, 2010
- Peaceful 2011 spurred development in Kashmir: Omar - Dec 08, 2011
- Need to remove AFSPA from parts of Kashmir: Omar - Nov 09, 2011
- Revocation of AFSPA inevitable: Mufti Sayeed - Nov 11, 2011
- Kashmir decisions on hold till visit of all-party delegation (Roundup) - Sep 15, 2010
- Congress core group discusses Telangana, AFSPA - Nov 14, 2011
- AFSPA may go this year: Omar - Mar 05, 2011
Tags: abrogation, afspa, agitation, army chief, bharatiya janata party, bjp leader, chetna, chief minister, indian army, jammu and kashmir, jammu region, kashmir, l k advani, manmohan, manmohan singh, party leader, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, public rally, sonia gandhi