Omar supporting splittists : LK

January 21, 2011
Rakesh Ranjan
New Delhi : A beleaguered Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday came in the line of fire from senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, who accused him of promoting separatist forces in the State. Leading a vicious attack on the State Government, Advani said the efforts to halt Rashtriya Ekta Yatra and stop the BJP from hoisting the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day was keeping in with the agenda of the anti-national elements.

“The yatra is not challenging any Government or the people of the country. It is but an open challenge to the separatists who are opposed to the national integrity. Instead of stopping the youth from unfurling tricolour at Lal Chowk, he (Abdullah) should lead the way to espouse the national cause,” Advani said addressing a gathering on the arrival of Rashtriya Ekta Yatra in the Capital.

The former Deputy Prime Minister accused the J&K Government of playing in the hands of the separatists who have been seeking the pre-1953 position in the State. “There cannot be two Constitutions, two emblems and two heads of the State. It is important to control the separatists in the country before the situation goes out of control,” he cautioned. Advani took a strong exception of Abdullah’s statement wherein he had accused the BJP of provoking the public and create unrest in the Kashmir valley.

“The yatra has witnessed immense support from all quarters. It is no way provocative. In fact, I was surprised to hear from his mouth that unlike Hyderabad and Junagarh, J&K is not an integral part of India as it had never merged with India,” the BJP stalwart said, adding such statements send a wrong message among the youth of the country.

Advani insisted that the Constitution of India allows every citizen to hoist national flag in any part of the country, which was not the situation before the NDA rule. “It was the NDA Government in Centre which revised the flag code to allow every common citizen to wave the national flag but unfortunately they are still being devoid of their right in Jammu & Kashmir,” he lamented.

The veteran leader was also critical of the Congress-led UPA Government in the Centre saying it was passing through the worst crisis of its tenure. “Corruption is reaching its peak. Be it the corruption in Commonwealth Games, Adarsh Housing scam or the expose in allocation of 2G spectrum, the Government is hesitant to act against the culprits,” Advani said.

He dared the Government to disclose the names of the persons whose unaccounted wealth is stashed in foreign countries. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he alleged that his inability to take decisions on his own had lowered the dignity of the top post.

“The situation is more like a Communist state where the party chief is supreme to the head of the state,” he said.

BJYM chief Anurag Thakur, leading the yatra from Kolkata to Kashmir, said the yatra aimed to take the issues of national security and integrity to the common people.

“It is the right and moral duty of all Indians to hoist the Tricolour. Why does not CM Omar Abdullah himself hoist the flag at Lal Chowk?” he said.

Condemning special status to J&K under Article 370, Thakur said, “It was originally proposed as a temporary solution but it has turned out to be a permanent problem which people have been facing for the last 64 years,” he maintained.

BJP vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu, general secretary Ananth Kumar, senior leader VK Malhotra and Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta were also present on the occasion.

Earlier, hundreds of BJP workers welcomed the Rashtriya Ekta Yatra on its arrival in the national Capital. Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta received the youth workers led by Anurag Thakur at Badarpur border at 1.30 pm. Thakur entered the city after completing a journey of nearly 2,200 km through seven States in nine days. The cheerful gathering gave a warm welcome to the Yatris and showered flower petals on them. The party activists raised slogans like ‘Lal Chowk jayenge, Tiranga wahin fehrayenge’ and ‘Jahan huye balidan mookerjee, wo Kashmir hamara hai’. The Yatra then slowly marched in the form of a procession to the Constitution Club in the Capital where the national leadership of BJP gave it a warm welcome.

(Courtesy : www.dailypioneer.com)