Hurriyat must prepare for electoral politics: BJP

QUOTE

No more relevant

The Hurriyat Conference lost its relevance after the abrogation of special status to the J&K on August 5, 2019. It was a doomsday for the Hurriyat, Pakistan and Pakistan proxies, and a new beginning of ‘Naya Kashmir’ as promised by the Modi government.

Abhijeet Jasrotia, BJP leader

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 9

Slamming separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference for its call for “Kashmir talks and steps to build confidence,” the BJP today said the Hurriyat had lost its relevance after August 5, 2019, and advised it to start preparing for electoral politics if it wanted to remain relevant.

In a statement issued yesterday, Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq advocated “dialogue between India, Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir for resolution of the Kashmir dispute” and suggested a series of steps to build an atmosphere for the talks.

Abhijeet Jasrotia, BJP’s J&K spokesperson, said the Hurriyat Conference lost its relevance after the abrogation of special status to the J&K on August 5, 2019. “It was a doomsday for the Hurriyat, Pakistan and Pakistan proxies, and a new beginning of ‘Naya Kashmir’ as promised by the Narendra Modi government”.

He further said Hurriyat leaders, who warned of repercussions, maintained silence. “The beginning of a new era can be judged by a decrease in the incidence of stone-pelting and new recruits for terror activities. Hurriyat leaders are nearly irrelevant and the statement regarding confidence-building measures with the Centre proves their desperation to somehow remain relevant. Like many mainstream parties of Kashmir, they are playing with the rattle of Article 370, which they know will never be restored,” said Jasrotia.

The BJP spokesperson claimed the reason behind the Hurriyat’s latest statement was that their funding from Pakistan has dried up because of strict vigil by the Indian government. “They are bankrupt. My advice to the Hurriyat is that they should realise that Article 370 is buried in a grave and will never come back to life. They should start thinking about participating in the electoral process to remain relevant before it is too late for them, otherwise, they will soon be history,” he added.