BJP turning JK into a cockpit of communal intrigue: Mehbooba

Srinagar, August 19: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged Sangh Parivar and its Prime Ministerial candidate LK Advani not to fish in the troubled waters of Jammu and Kashmir by fomenting trouble in the State.

In a statement issued here today PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said Advani and his cohorts have turned Jammu into a cockpit of communal intrigue which could destabilize not only Jammu & Kashmir, but the entire south Asian region. "Advani's pronouncement to lead the Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti (SASS) rally in Jammu on August 25 has uncovered the concealed nexus of the Samiti with the Sangh Parivar," she said and added it is now clear that BJP is fueling the Jammu agitation only for political purposes.

Mehbooba said BJP's open support to communalists might be understandable in view of Advani's prime ministerial ambitions but it can cost the country very heavy. "After Babri Masjid demolition and the Gujarat massacres the BJP is reverting to the old Praja Parishad tactics which in fact gave birth to the Jana Sangh more than half a century back", she said. But the events then had caused a festering sore in the body of Indo-Pak subcontinent causing an unending cycle of human misery and destruction. It could be worse now, she warned.

The PDP chief said Sangh Parivar is playing a dangerous game in stoking the fires of communalism in Jammu and pitting parts of that region against Kashmir by branding the protests in the two regions as a battle between nationalists and separatists.

Ridiculing the BJP's accusation that the truckers who refuse to ply outside Kashmir are supporters of PDP and the separatists, the PDP president said  Advani's party in Jammu and Punjab have created a fear psychosis in those areas which regenerate the horrors of partition. BJP's Transport Minister from Punjab camped in Jammu to oversee the blockade operations announced formally by the state BJP president Ashok Khajuria on June 22 along with an ultimatum against Muslims to leave Jammu, Mehbooba asked.

Mehbooba said Kashmiris had given a fitting reply to the Sangh Parivar by uniting their ranks and remaining peaceful throughout the current agitation. By ensuring the safety of half a million Yatries and providing them all amenities even while suffering from the fallout of economic blockade they have added a new chapter of glory to their history.

"Not deterred by the threats of police action and deregistration, we will continue our struggle against forces of chauvinism and communalism" Mehbooba said adding that it was immaterial if her party was allowed to fight elections or not. Elections are no priority at a time when our people are engaged in a battle for survival, she said.