SRINAGAR: Eleven months after the abolition of J&K’s special status, BJP general secretary (organisation) Ashok Koul today urged party workers to muster courage and tell people that revoking Article 370 was the right decision.
Stating that certain groups might issue a shutdown call on August 5 on the completion of a year of the abrogation, newspaper The Tribune quoted Koul as having said the BJP workers had to “come forward in defence”.
Talking to reporters here, he defended the decision to abolish the special status by claiming that the law was never permanent and had ended stone-pelting in the Valley.
Quoting Koul newspaper The Tribune reported regional parties like the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had only “played politics” over Article 370, adding that the common man “got nothing”.
Koul claimed that no leader was under house arrest. “They are not under house arrest. If he (NC leader Ali Mohammad Sagar) wants to remain under house arrest, we cannot help it….they were detained for the safety of people. Today, all are free and many have even started political activities,” he said.
Koul said if separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani had quit the Hurriyat Conference earlier, the situation in the Valley would have been much better.
“Geelani sahib is a veteran politician. He had been in the Assembly….had he taken the decision earlier, the state of affairs would have been much better…perhaps Kashmir would not have seen this much bloodshed,” The Tribune quoted Koul as saying.
