No facts, only rhetoric in BJP chief’s speech: PDP

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 24

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), rejecting the accusations of BJP’s national president, has said that Amit Shah had been quite careless while presenting facts to people during his speech in Jammu on Saturday.

Senior PDP leader Abdul Rehman Veeri in a statement said the coalition government in the state came into existence soon after the catastrophic floods of 2014 in the Valley, which deserved special attention during the government’s first year as bridges, roads, hospitals, schools and other vital structures were badly damaged.

Veeri said Jammu and Ladakh regions had not faced any neglect. “Equitable development of all three regions remained the top priority of the government and Jammu and Ladakh were equally benefitted by the governance of the previous coalition,” he said.

It was ironic that the BJP president had decided to run down the MLAs and ministers of his own party by arguing about less development in Jammu, he said. “He, perhaps, has forgotten that the BJP was an equal partner in the coalition and BJP ministers were holding key portfolios in the government,” Veeri added.

The former minister said Amit Shah made the statement “perhaps for political benefits but the fact remains that such rhetoric won’t help a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir in any way”.

He said the PDP worked at the forefront to present Jammu and Kashmir as a composite state and not let anyone break it into fragments.

He said it was unnatural to blame a single party and if there was any development deficit, it was with the departments which were held by BJP ministers in the coalition.

PDP has lost moral right to flay BJP: Rasheed

Srinagar: Independent legislator Engineer Rasheed on Sunday asked the PDP to apologise to people for allowing the BJP “run its divisive agenda” in the state. His statement came after BJP president Amit Shah said during the PDP-BJP rule, Jammu and Ladakh were ignored by the government. “Mehbooba Mufti (PDP president) has lost all moral right to criticise the BJP and whatsoever she may say to hide her politics of betraying Kashmiris has no takers,” he said in a statement issued here. “Shah’s claims that Jammu and Ladakh were ignored are just aimed at provoking people against Kashmiris for the vote bank politics,” he added. Every decision which the state government had taken during the past three years, the BJP was always in the driving seat, he claimed. “If Shah believes Jammu was ignored, he too should offer an apology for betraying the people of Jammu,” he said. TNS