Protests over Kharge’s remarks on PM’s father
Jammu Tawi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday celebrated the 79th anniversary of Jammu and Kashmir’s accession to the Union of India.
The BJP leaders and workers assembled at the party office here and distributed sweets to celebrate the decision taken by Maharaja Hari Singh to accede to the Indian Union on October 26, 1947.
“It is a historic day that we celebrate. The Maharaja was a great visionary, as he felt the people of Jammu and Kashmir would have a secure future in the Union of India,” BJP spokesperson Altaf Thakur said.
He said the Maharaja rejected the two-nation theory and acceded to India.
“There were some elements who tried to impose the two-nation theory but failed,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BJP staged a protest at Dogra Chowk here, alleging “indecent and offensive” remarks by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late father.
In response to a comment at a Patna event on Sunday, Kharge reportedly said, “Modi ka baap bhi jayega (Modi’s father will also go)”, triggering a sharp reaction from senior BJP leaders, who accused the Congress of resorting to personal attacks against the prime minister and his family.
Led by BJP MLA and national vice-president of the party’s youth wing, Shagun Parihar, and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s (BJYM) Jammu and Kashmir president Arun Prabhat, hundreds of party workers and leaders took out a rally through Dogra Chowk in Jammu.
The protesters raised slogans and burnt posters of Congress leaders, including Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. They also staged a brief sit-in on the road.
Talking to reporters, Parihar said Kharge’s remarks were not merely an attack on the prime minister’s father but also an affront to elderly people who had passed away.
“If they do not respect the prime minister’s father, how will they respect the father of an ordinary citizen?” she asked, strongly condemning the Congress party.
She said Modi has dedicated himself to the nation and worked in the national interest, and hence, such remarks about his late father were highly objectionable.
Parihar also accused the Congress of undermining the dignity of democratic and constitutional institutions, including the judiciary, the Election Commission of India and the Office of the Prime Minister.
BJYM’s Jammu and Kashmir president Arun Prabhat said the Congress had crossed all limits with the remarks, and the alleged disrespect and contempt shown towards the prime minister’s family would draw a strong response from the country’s people.
The Congress is making such remarks out of frustration, and it would face public resentment over the issue, Prabhat said.
According to reports, protests and demonstrations were held in Samba, Kathua, Poonch, Udhampur, Rajouri, Doda, Kishtwar and Reasi districts over the issue.