SRINAGAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday postponed its proposed July 20 protest in Jammu and Kashmir following the devastating flash floods in Poonch and Rajouri districts, with Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma saying that “politics can wait” and the immediate priority should be humanitarian relief.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Sharma said the party had decided to defer the protest, which was scheduled to march from Ghanta Ghar at Lal Chowk to the Civil Secretariat, in view of the large-scale loss of life and property caused by the floods.
“Politics can wait. At this moment, humanity should come first and every political party should stand with the victims,” Sharma said, urging all political parties to rise above political differences and support those affected by the disaster.
He said the BJP’s central and Jammu and Kashmir leadership, along with party workers, were deeply saddened by the tragedy and had unanimously decided to suspend political activities for the time being.
“As a responsible political party, we have decided to postpone the protest. This is not the time for politics when people are grieving and looking for help. Holding a protest at this stage will also hamper the administration’s rescue operations,” Sharma said.
He clarified that the protest had only been postponed and not cancelled, adding that a fresh date would be announced after the situation returned to normal.
The Leader of Opposition said BJP teams would immediately leave for the flood-hit districts of Poonch and Rajouri to assist rescue and relief efforts and extend support to affected families.
Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were closely monitoring the evolving situation and had spoken to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to review rescue operations and relief measures.
He added that BJP leaders had also been directed to visit the affected areas, assess the damage and communicate the ground situation to both the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
Referring to the scale of the disaster, Sharma claimed that while one death had been officially reported in Rajouri and another person was feared missing, at least 16 people had lost their lives in Poonch.
“Based on information available with the party, the overall death toll in the two districts appears to be around 18,” he said, while acknowledging that these were not official figures.
He said flash floods had also impacted Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar and the Bani-Basohli belt, although no major loss of life had been reported from those areas so far.
Describing the destruction in Rajouri as unprecedented, Sharma said the district had suffered one of the worst property losses witnessed during any natural disaster in Jammu and Kashmir, even as rescue operations continued.
He also expressed grief over the tragedy in Surankote, where eight members of a family were swept away in the floods. According to Sharma, only three bodies had been recovered by Sunday, while efforts to trace the remaining missing family members were still underway.
