PDP, NC instigating people to resort to violence: BJP leader Kavinder Gupta

Jammu: A day after three BJP workers were shot dead by militants in Kulgam district, senior party leader and ex-deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta on Friday accused the PDP and NC of "propagating a false narrative" in the Valley to instigate people in resorting to violence as a means of showing resistance against the recent changes in Jammu and Kashmir.

He however maintained that such "cowardly" acts by the militants cannot deter BJP's commitment to work for the national cause.

Chairing a meeting of senior party leaders here on Friday, Gupta said, "The killing of the three BJP workers in Kulgam is an outcome of the recent provocative statements by PDP and NC leaders who deliberately toed a line to incite passions of people prompting them to commit such dastardly acts to demoralize the nationalist populace in the Valley".

"The PDP and NC were propagating a false narrative in Valley to instigate people to use violence as a mean to show resistance against recent changes that Jammu and Kashmir witnessed due to the Narendra Modi government's efforts to completely unite erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir with the country," he said.

On Tuesday, the Centre, in a gazette notification, omitted the phrase "permanent resident of the state" from Section 17 of the Jammu and Kashmir Development Act that deals with disposal of the land in the union territory, paving the way for people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to buy land in JK and Ladakh, over a year after the nullification of provisions under Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution.

The mainstream parties of Kashmir have decried the amendments and termed the move akin to putting Jammu and Kashmir up for sale.

Paying tribute to the deceased party colleagues -- Fida Hussain, Umar Hajam and Haroon Rashid -- Gupta made it clear that their sacrifice would not go in vain and described them the "valiant ones who stood for India's uprightness".

Admitting that the death of these thee BJP workers was a setback for the party, he said, "Soon, the killers will face the law of the land as already police has successfully collected significant leads in the case."

About a Pakistani minister boasting that Pakistan was responsible for the 2019 Pulwama terrorist attack, Gupta said, "It seems Pakistan has forgotten Balakot air strike and needs another befitting response to mend its ways."

He also termed Pakistan a "crook nation which is sponsoring terror and providing all the logistics to terrorists to carry out such kind of attacks in India." PTI AB