J&K unlikely to see normalcy: Owaisi
Hyderabad, June 19: The BJP's decision to pull out of the PDP-led Jammu and Kashmir government and the expected imposition of Governor's rule won't bring normalcy in the state, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said on Tuesday.
"There will not be normalcy after Governor's rule is imposed... There will be further repression. The BJP's actual agenda is to scrap Article 370. No Kashmiri will approve of it," Owaisi told reporters here.
He said he had no sympathies for Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who resigned after the BJP's announcement, and he saw no political future for her and the Peoples Democratic Party in the Kashmir Valley.
Owaisi alleged that the BJP took the decision to pull out after it realized that it is losing ground in Jammu. Arguing that the BJP could not run away from the responsibility as it was sharing power and had a Deputy Chief Minister and ministers, he said BJP was more responsible than PDP for the situation in the state as it failed to deliver, failed to provide governance, stop terror attacks on Army camps and check cross-border terrorism.
He also said that the BJP, as a partner in the government, made no serious attempt for a dialogue and no step was taken to fulfil the promises made in the agenda of the alliance.
Owaisi said BJP's main aim was to repeal Article 370. "The assassination of Shujaat Bukhari (Editor of Rising Kashmir newspaper) was a monumental tragedy and unfortunately it is being used and exploited to fulfil a policy which was started two years ago," he said.
Recalling that both BJP and PDP had termed formation of the coalition government a meeting of North and South Poles, he said: "The people of the country want to know what happened to the so-called meeting..."
Claiming that the ceasefire (of Ramadan) had resulted in the beginning of political activity on the ground, Owaisi said the BJP owes an explanation to the nation why it announced a ceasefire in a hurry and why it did not extend it.
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RCB beat MI by 18 runs after batters fire
Mumbai (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli blasted half-centuries as the defending champions beat Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.
Salt (78 off 36 balls) and Kohli (50 off 38 balls) stitched together a 120-run stand for the opening wicket before Patidar scored a rapid 53 off just 20 balls as RCB posted 240 for 4.
In response, Mumbai Indians were restricted to 222 for 5, with RCB spinner Suyash Sharma (2/47) putting the skids on the home side with a double strike in the eighth over, from which they could not recover.
Sherfane Rutherford top-scored for MI with an unbeaten 71 off 31 balls.
While opener Rohit Sharma appeared to be struggling with a hamstring issue and had to retire hurt on 19, his partner Ryan Rickelton made 37, while Suryakumar Yadav (33) and Hardik Pandya (40) were the other contributors for MI.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 240 for 4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 78, Virat Kohli 50, Rajat Patidar 53, Tim David 35 not out).
Mumbai Indians: 222 for 5 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 71 not out, Ryan Rickelton 37, Hardik Pandya 40; Suyash Sharma 2/47).
