AFSPA not imposed out of fun in J&K: Ram Madhav
HITS OUT SEPARATISTS Says nothing new about poll boycott call
JAMMU:Close on the heels of chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s demand for withdrawal of the “controversial” Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from “some areas” of Jammu and Kashmir, BJP’s national general secretary Ram Madhav, the man who had re-stitched the PDP-BJP alliance after Mufti Mohammed Sayeed’s death, said on Saturday, “It is not out of fun that such laws are put in place in some states including the northeast.”
Fielding media queries here, Madhav said,“They are there because there is some necessity for such laws. When such necessity ceases by the efforts of the state governments, such laws shall also cease automatically. The state governments, therefore, should create such conditions that these laws should go (away).”
The BJP general secretary said this when reminded about the spike in terror activities in the state vis-a-vis CM’s demand for withdrawal of AFSPA from some areas of the militancy-hit state.
Madhav also trashed the call by separatists to boycott the Anantnag and Srinagar bypolls saying ,“There was nothing new to it.”
“They have done the same thing before. They do it all the time whenever elections are round the corner. And, we also do the same thing— ask people to come out in large numbers and take part in the elections and vote for the candidates of their choice.
Democracy is acelebration and everybody should celebrate it,” he said.
“We certainly want the people to come out in large numbers and take part in Anantnag andSrinagar bypolls,” he added.
HIGH COMMAND TO TAKE FINAL CALL ON CONTESTING ELECTIONS
Earlier, briefing the media about the impending Lok Sabha bypolls and elections to six seats of the legislative council going to fall vacant next month, he said that he had come to get the feedback of state unit of the BJP and its partner PDP.
“We had detailed deliberations and have suggested PDP and BJP to hold parleys. The final decision will be taken by the party high command at the Centre. The BJP, too, has some votes (in Kashmir) even if they are less. There are some views of the party on contesting or not contesting the elections,” said Madhav.
He hoped that the party high command in Delhi will come out with its decision in a day or two.
On an Indian Muslim cleric and his nephew reportedly missing in Pakistan, he said that the Centre has been utilising all available channels including diplomatic channels to bring them back to their native land.
“Once they are back, everything will be known,” he responded to the reported abduction of the duo in Pakistan.