New Delhi: BJP on Tuesday hit out at the
Jammu and Kashmir government and the Centre for "crossing all
limits" to stop the `Ekta Yatra` to Srinagar to hoist the
national flag at Lal Chowk tomorrow.
"The atrocities of the Jammu and Kashmir government
and the Centre has reminded us of the freedom struggle. The
East India Company used to lay atrocities on Indians with
such force. The government has crossed all limits," BJP
spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.
He insisted that the Ekta Yatra was not aimed at
gaining political mileage but a work of dedication and
sacrifice as shown by BJP ideologue S P Mookherjee.
"If even one-tenth of the number of para-military
forces which have been deployed, were used then it would have
helped to easily hoist the flag at Lal Chowk," Hussain said.
The spokesperson maintained that "brutality not just
of the freedom struggle, but even of the Emergency days were
shown by the government during the Yatra.
"He took on the government for the treatment meted out
to senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Ananth
Kumar yesterday in Jammu.
"They were kept at the tarmac for many hours and were
not informed where they were being taken as is done when
Section 144 is invoked," Hussain alleged.
He asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister
P Chidambaram and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar
Abdullah to stop "giving sermons" on the issue of hoisting
the national flag at Srinagar.
Hussain alleged that the government was treating BJP
workers like Emergency days and cited the turning back of a
train carrying party workers to Kashmir.
"Not enough facilities were given. Water and power
facilities were cut off in the train."
Asked about opposition expressed by Bihar Chief
Minister and ally JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar to the flag
hoisting plans, Hussain said, "In a democracy, everybody has a
right to speak. This is a BJP programme, we are organising it.
And we are proud of it. We feel the euphoria of the movement
will spread from Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of India."
He dismissed suggestions that BJP is undertaking this
Yatra for vote bank politics.
PTI
