Srinagar BJP candidate quits party over manifesto

SRINAGAR: In a setback for the BJP, its candidate from the Srinagar Lok Sabha seat on Wednesday resigned from the party’s basic membership over its “anti-Kashmir” and “antiMuslim” manifesto for the elections. Arif Majid Pampori, who was to file his nomination papers on Wednesday, decided not to do so. “I had asked BJP chief Rajnath Singh not to include issues such as abrogation of Article 370, Ram Mandir and a common civil code in the manifesto as these are issues which are highly sensitive for Muslims, in particular those in Jammu and Kashmir,” Pampori said. PTI