BJP embarrasses Mufti with boycott to Iftar party, Martyrs Day function

◆Omar says PDP is BJP's collaborator in desecration of martyrs

◆BJP says it's no martyrs day, just Sheikh-type hoodwinking of Kashmiris


Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
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SRINAGAR, July 13: For the first time since the formation of government in March this year, BJP has created an embarrassing situation for the coalition partner PDP and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed with its 'boycott' not only to the latter's Iftar party in New Delhi but also to the State ceremonial function on occasion of the Martyrs Day in Srinagar on Monday.

As exclusively predicted by STATE TIMES in its edition of July 11, BJP Ministers without exception boycotted the State function at the Martyrs Graveyard which was nonetheless presided over by Chief Minister Mufti and attended by a number of his Ministerial collegaues in the PDP and other senior leaders of the principal ruling party. In keeping with the tradition of the last 67 years, Chief Minister paid floral tributes to the 22 Kashmiri martyrs who fell to the bullets of Maharaja Hari Singh's armed forces during a mayhem at the hearing of a political detainee Abdul Qadeer outside Srinagar Central Jail on July 13, 1931.

The massacre led to a mass uprising, providing a popular political platform to the National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah whose struggle terminated the Dogra monarchy in 1947 and replaced it with democracy.

Jammu and Kashmir Police contingents paid their tributes to the martyrs with a traditional guard of honour. Senior government functionaries, including Director General of Police, K Rajendra Kumar, participated in the remembrance ceremony.

It was for the first time in over half-a-century that the government’s own Ministers boycotted the Martys Day function and a coalition partner asserted this day and the martyrs carried no significance for it. Some of the BJP leaders were quoted by media as saying that the July 13 martyrs were of the same mentality and mindset that had been adopted by the post-1990 separatists and militants.

BJP's spokesperson Khalid Jehangir had told STATE TIMES on last Friday that his party would stay away as Chief Minister or his PDP had never organised or attended an event in honour of the Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

Significantly, all the national and State level BJP leaders, with the one-odd exception of Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, had been conspicuously absent at Chief Minister’s Iftar party at Hotel Ashok in New Delhi on Sunday evening. Participants described it as a "lacklustre show", saying that not a single BJP leader turned up at the high profile venue.

A senior officer associated with organising CM's Iftar party claimed that most of the CM's guests could not attend as the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hosted a similar Iftar party at the same time on Sunday evening.


PDP TO TAKE UP MATTER WITH BJP HIGH COMMAND

With the discomfiture becoming evident in the PDP, the party’s authorised spokesperson Dr Mehboob Beg issued a statement promptly. He said that to attend the official function to pay respects the Martyrs was an obligation that the Ministers ought to have fulfilled and any deviation from such a precedent was inappropriate. He stressed that it should be amply clear that the martyrs belonged to the state and not to any particular religion, region, caste or creed and their sacrifices must not be forgotten or belittled.

Dr.Beg pointed out that Mufti "paid his respects to the martyrs not as the PDP Patron but on behalf of the people of the state as their Chief Minister". He emphasised that it was "in indebtedness and gratitude that we salute these martyrs and that the martyrs transcended way beyond party lines".

One of the senior PDP leaders and a Cabinet Minister revealed to this newspaper that his party and the government had viewed BJP's "disrespect to the martyrs" so seriously that it would be taken up directly with the Prime Minister and the BJP President Amit Shah in a couple of days. "They have committed insult to the State and the government of which they are a pert. Even Governors Jagmohan, GC Saxena and NN Vohra attended this function and paid tributes to the martyrs during Governor’s or President's rule", he pointed out.


PDP COLLABORATOR IN BJP'S DISRESPECT TO MARTYRS: OMAR

Meanwhile, leader of the principal opposition party and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah too reacted to the absence of BJP ministers at the Martyrs Graveyard. He said he had already cautioned that BJP’s coming to power would be "dangerous for the state of Jammu and Kashmir". “You should ask this question to the PDP which opened the doors for the BJP in Kashmir. We had already said that BJP will be dangerous for the state,” Omar told reporters after paying floral tributes to the martyrs at their tombs on the premises of the reverred Naqashband Sahab shrine between Nowhatta and Khanyar.

Drawing an analogy between late Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad and the PDP patron Mufti, Omar said that Government of India was trying to "purchase the conscience of the Kashmiris" as it had done from 1953 to 1963. His uncharitable insinuation was unambiguously to the reported Rs 70,000 crore economic package Prime Minister Modi was expected to unfold for J&K during his visit to Jammu on July 17.

“Do they really think that by bringing in Rs one lakh crore, they will win over hearts of the people? Just like they did during the time of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad. Sher-e-Kashmir (Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah) was arrested and lots of funds were given to Bakshi, thinking that Kashmiris will sell their values and honour. Kashmiris did not sell their honour then and they will not do it now,” Omar asserted.

He also castigated Centre over the delay in the relief package for flood victims, saying they were left in lurch despite 10 months have passed since the occurrence of floods in Kashmir.

The former chief minister maintained that the promises PDP made to the people of Kashmir ahead of coming to power had been outrightly ignored by the party. “Those with whom dialogue was ought to be started have been arrested. There is not even a single talk over reducing the number of forces deployed in Kashmir and furthermore there is complete lull over revocation of AFSPA,” Omar said.

Let me also say the people of J&K are not saleable and cannot be bought and sold through economic packages while their political rights and their dignity is bartered. When Sheikh Sahib was incarcerated, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad got numerous economic packages and a flood of funds. We all know how futile that nefarious plan turned out to be. Our party and our people are the vanguards in a battle to safeguard our State from all evil plans – and economic packages won’t change that”, the NC Working President said.

BJP's Ministers avoided speaking to media on their boycott but its spokesman in a conversation with mediapersons defended staying away from the Martyrs Day function.


BJP: NOTHING BUT HOODWINKING KASHMIRIS

“We have seen since decades that such exercises are done to exploit people, gain political mileages and hoodwink masses at large,” he said. He alleged that Sheikh Abdullah used the same slogan of July 13 to become the chief minister and NC continued "to exploit people of the state even today with that slogan". BJP maintained that it entered into alliance with the PDP "for giving good governance to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and not for participating in the events like these of July 13".

Authorities enforced virtual curfew in downtown Srinagar and did not permit the separatists' joint march to the cemetery. All the prominent separatist leaders were either detained at Police Stations or placed under house arrest. However, there were no reports of any clashes with Police or paramilitary forces.

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