BJP under fire for ‘misleading’ nation over safety of pilgrims, minorities
Serious differences have appeared to have cropped up in the “disciplined” Sangh Parivar over the “mishandling” of the situation in the Kashmir valley by the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
The BJP, which is for the first time enjoying power in J&K, has strongly defended the coalition government in dealing with the situation but other organisations of the Sangh Parivar have not been satisfied with the steps being taken by the state government to ensure the safety of Amarnath pilgrims and minorities living in the Valley.
“State BJP leaders are giving misleading statements to keep the nation in the dark. It is a hard reality that for the first time in the history of Amarnath yatra, pilgrims are facing problems and the blame for this goes to the BJP ministers, who are part of the coalition government,” said Sangh Parivar stalwart Leela Karan Sharma while referring to a statement of Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh denying any attack on vehicles of Amarnath yatris.
Sharma, who had spearheaded the 2008 Amarnath land stir in the Jammu region as convener of the Sangarsh Samiti, said: “The BJP ministers are behaving in the most irresponsible manner. They are worse than the Congress ministers of the previous regime”. Sharma is currently a coordinator of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
Like the BJP, the VHP is also a constituent of the Sangh Parivar, drawing inspiration from the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The Deputy Chief Minister had claimed on Saturday that there had been no attacks on minorities or Amarnath pilgrims during the protests over Burhan. Echoing the views of the Deputy Chief Minister, some BJP leaders had also claimed that all facilities were being provided to the pilgrims.
Sources in the Parivar said that not only the VHP but other RSS organisations too have expressed anger over the mishandling of the situation and put the onus on the BJP representatives for the current situation. “The VHP is publicly speaking against BJP ministers but leaders of other RSS organisations like the Dharam Jagran Samiti, Bajrang Dal and the Hindu Raksha Samiti are taking up the issue in closed-door meetings to maintain discipline in the Parivar,” a source said, adding that the VHP leadership had already threatened to launch an agitation to expose the PDP-BJP government.
