Srinagar, Mar 27: Hinting more punitive measures against Kashmiris ahead of elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday said there was no question of lifting the ban on JKLF and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) and instead, the government was mulling to place further curbs on groups “which want J&K’s separation with India”.
Addressing a press conference here, BJP National General Secretary, Ram Madhav, said that the ban on JKLF and JeI has been imposed to “bring peace” to the Valley.
“Nobody shall dream that the ban will be lifted. It is impossible. The ban on anti-national forces will continue,” Madhav said, in response to a question about the resentment shown by valley traders, civil society groups, and mainstream parties against the move.
Asked whether the Centre would ban mainstream parties like the PDP as claimed by BJP leader Kavindar Gupta (who has reacted over Mehbooba’s statement that she would lift ban on JeI if her party comes to power and her party workers are “real Mujahidin”) Madhav replied: “Will she (Mehbooba) come to power again? …The government will ban all those groups and parties who want to separate J&K with the country.”
Both JKLF and the JeI have been declared unlawful associations by the Centre under the “anti-terror” law.
Madhav demanded that action be taken against National Conference leader Akbar Lone for his remarks on Pakistan.
“I would like to ask National Conference leadership if they agree with the statement of Akbar Lone over Pakistan. We demand that the administration registers FIR against him over such anti-India statements that provoke people. It has exposed the character of regional parties. There is a leader, who says her party workers are real Mujahidin. These are people (militants) who killed a 12-year-old boy and ‘attempted to rape’ girls,” he claimed.
Lone, who is National Conference’s Parliamentary candidate from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat, had on Saturday called Pakistan “his Muslim nation on the other side” during a rally in Kupwara.
He had also threatened to abuse anyone who abuses Pakistan.
Madhav, who was the architect of the PDP-BJP alliance, said that they have asked Election Commission of India to hold Assembly Elections in the state as early as possible.
“After municipal and parliamentary elections, we want early assembly elections now,” he said, adding that there has been “substantial and hard action” against militancy, and development works in the state are progressing at a fast pace”.
“The two regional parties announced their candidates for Lok Sabha elections, however, the same called for boycott of municipal elections. They said Article 35A and Article 370 is under threat in Modi government. Our stand is still the same on these issues but Farooq Sahab and Mehbooba Ji are interested in Parliamentary polls now,” he said.
He said that BJP is confident of winning seats in Jammu and Ladakh and the party was trying its best to improve its position in Kashmir as well.
“I want to ask people of Kashmir to vote for those who want peace and development and not promote and resort to anti-national statements,” he said, adding, “Militancy graph has gone down and people are happy to see peace here”.
Madhav was flanked by Khalid Jehangir, BJP’s candidate for Srinagar Parliamentary seat and former minister Satya Pal Sharma.
Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly weren’t announced in tandem with the Lok Sabha polls – a move that was criticised by NC and PDP.
The state is currently under President’s rule since the BJP withdrew support for the PDP and Mehbooba Mufti in June last year.