Chandigarh, Sept 19: Bharatiya Janata Party National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Thursday hit out at the National Conference and the Congress for playing up the agenda of Pakistan during the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections.
Taking a strong note of the statement of Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, Chugh, who is also party in charge of J-K elections, said, “His statement has completely exposed the NC and the Congress for pursuing the Pakistan agenda.”
Chugh said “It not only demonstrated Pakistan’s intention to interfere in the J-K elections but also established that the Abdullahs of the NC and the Gandhi family in the Congress have been taking directions from Pakistan forces to cause disruption and disturbance in the territory.”
Demanding an explanation from the Abdullahs and the Gandhi family to clarify their links with the Pakistan ISI, Chugh said, “It was reprehensible that an anti-national alliance has been dancing to the tunes of Pakistan forces to fool the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“In the past also it was clearly demonstrated by the Abdullahs that they would rather follow the agenda dictated by the Pakistan ISI to deprive J&K to its due development and progress. “It has been the foremost agenda of the Abdullahs and the Gandhis to keep J&K on the boil so that their vested political interests are protected at the cost of the common man in J&K”, he said.
Chugh said “The BJP takes strong exception to this dangerous alliance of the Pakistan forces with the NC and Congress and warned the people of J-K against falling into this anti-national trap at a time when voting has started for the assembly elections in the territory.”
Meanwhile responding to the comments of the Pakistan Defence Minister, former JK CM Omar Abdullah said Pakistan should not interfere in India’s electoral process.
“What does Pakistan have to do with us? We are not even a part of Pakistan, let them take care of their country. I don’t think they should interfere in our elections or comment on our elections. They should save their democracy, we are participating in ours,” Omar Abdullah said.
Earlier speaking on Geo News to senior journalist Hamid Mir in a show Capital Talk, the Pakistan Defence Minister was asked whether Pakistan and National Conference-Congress alliance are on the same page on the restoration of Article 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir.
Khwaja Asif replied, “Absolutely. Even our demand is also the same…”
Pakistan’s Defence Minister also claimed that that Article 370 could return should the NC-Congress alliance come to power in JK.
“I think it is possible. Currently, the National Conference and Congress have very big importance over there. The population of the valley has been motivated a lot on this issue and I believe, there is a chance that the Conference (National Conference) will come to power. They have made this an election issue that the status of Jammu and Kashmir should be restored,” Asif told Geo News.
ANI
