Senior BJP leader proposes separate Jammu state, says Kashmiris are ‘not loyal to country’
New Delhi: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and MLA Sham Lal Sharma has triggered a political row after asserting that the people of Kashmir are “not loyal to the country” and arguing that Jammu should be carved out as a separate state.
Speaking on January 19, Sharma said repeated unrest in the Kashmir Valley had disrupted what he described as the “naturally peaceful” atmosphere of Jammu. According to him, the creation of a separate Jammu state would allow the region to progress economically, socially and administratively, reported Deccan Chronicle.
Sharma claimed that Jammu contributes the bulk of the Union territory’s resources and alleged that it has faced decades of discrimination. He said nearly 80 per cent of electricity generation and a similar share of deposits in the Jammu and Kashmir Bank originate from Jammu. The BJP leader maintained that his comments reflected his personal views.
Following the remarks, the BJP leadership distanced itself from Sharma’s statements, clarifying that his views do not represent the party’s official stand.
The comments drew strong reactions from regional parties in Jammu and Kashmir. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah dismissed the idea of separating Jammu as “absurd” and said the regions of Jammu and Kashmir are historically and culturally inseparable.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah accused the BJP of having “ruined” Ladakh after its bifurcation and warned that a similar move in Jammu would repeat those mistakes. He said the proposal risked deepening communal and regional divides.
People’s Democratic Party president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti criticised Sharma’s remarks as being rooted in religious considerations linked to Jammu’s Hindu-majority character. She warned that dividing the region on communal lines would undermine the secular basis on which Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India in 1947, after rejecting Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s two-nation theory.
Mufti further alleged that such proposals would reinforce the notion that Hindus and Muslims cannot coexist within a single political unit and accused the BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal of treating Jammu and Kashmir as a “laboratory” for divisive political experiments, the report said.
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Nitin Nabin takes over as BJP president
New Delhi (PTI): Nitin Nabin was on Tuesday formally declared as the BJP national president, succeeding J P Nadda and beginning a new chapter for the party as it seeks to tighten its grip on politics in the country.
K Laxman, Returning Officer for BJP organisational polls, declared the results of the organisational elections and handed over the certificate of election to 45-year-old Nabin, the youngest ever to occupy the top party post.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nadda, senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, among others, were present at the BJP headquarters to witness the leadership transition.
Nabin became the 12th president of the BJP, which was founded in 1980, the same year he was born.
The low-profile and unassuming Nabin had resigned as the minister for law and justice, urban development and housing in the Bihar government after he was appointed working president of the BJP on December 14.
"This election shows that in the BJP, leadership rises from hard work and dedication, not from dynastic privilege," Laxman said, announcing the outcome of the elections.
"Today is a very historic occasion, when our young, energetic, and talented Nitin Nabin is taking charge as the National President of the world's largest political party, the BJP. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to him on my behalf and on behalf of crores of workers," Nadda said, addressing the gathering.
