No pressure from us to arrest Masarat: BJP

Dinesh Manhotra/Devender Thakur

Tribune News Service

Jammu/Katra, April 17

The BJP today said separatist leader Masarat Alam was arrested in accordance with the law and the party leadership had not mounted any pressure, from any quarter, on the state government.

“The state government acted on its own in this case and the arrest was made as per the law,” BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, who is in charge of J&K, told mediapersons.

When asked whether the Mufti government had buckled under pressure from the BJP top brass, Ram Madhav said: “There was no pressure from our side. The state government has taken action based on whatever evidence and details they have collected.”

“Earlier Masarat was released by the local authorities as per the law and now they have arrested him as per the law”, he said while skipping the query whether there was a delay on the part of the government to detain the separatist leader. “This question should be asked to the state government, but the police after due investigation have now taken the appropriate action,” he said, making it clear that anti-national activities would not be tolerated.

Masarat, who was placed under house arrest on Thursday night, was arrested earlier this morning and was under police detention in Budgam district, where a police complaint was lodged against him for raising pro-Pakistan slogans and waving the Pakistan flag on April 15. Another separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was also placed under house arrest.

Within a week after assuming power, the PDP-BJP government on March 7 had released Masarat from preventive detention after more than four years. He was arrested during the 2010 unrest in the Kashmir valley. He was accused of inciting youth during the unrest, leading to clashes between mobs and security forces in which at least 112 people were killed. His release from jail had created uproar in the country.

Ram Madhav, who is instrumental in formation of the PDP-BJP government in J&K, made it clear that the coalition would run on the basis of “Agenda for the Alliance” and there was no question of deviating from the agenda.

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Executive meet begins

A two-day meeting of the executive committee of the BJP commenced at Katra in Reasi district on Friday. The meeting was chaired by state BJP president and MP Jugal Kishore Sharma. Ram Madhav, MP Avinash Rai Khanna and other BJP leaders are attending the meeting. Sources say the prevailing political situation and issues related to coalition partner PDP would also be part of the discussion at the meeting.