Thursday, Mar 28, 2024 | Last Update : 03:34 PM IST

  India   All India  12 Aug 2019  BJP to tell ‘real stories’ on J&K

BJP to tell ‘real stories’ on J&K

THE ASIAN AGE. | YOJNA GUSAI
Published : Aug 12, 2019, 2:03 am IST
Updated : Aug 12, 2019, 3:36 am IST

The abrogation of this article was part of the core agenda of the BJP and the RSS-led Sangh Parivar.

Security personnel stand guard during restrictions in Jammu on Monday. Restrictions and night curfews were imposed in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir as the Valley remained on edge with the authorities stepping up security deployment. (Photo: PTI)
 Security personnel stand guard during restrictions in Jammu on Monday. Restrictions and night curfews were imposed in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir as the Valley remained on edge with the authorities stepping up security deployment. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: After the Narendra Modi government’s “historic decision” on nullifying Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP is now planning to present “the real stories” from the state to the country and the world, on how this special status actually deprived the state of development and had “curtailed” democracy.

The BJP is working on a social media platform where locals, in particular youth and women, will narrate how this article was “used as propaganda” and “misused” by Pakistan-backed separatists, regional parties and the Congress for political benefit and not let the state grow.

Earlier this week, Parliament gave its nod to nullifying Article 370 and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The abrogation of this article was part of the core agenda of the BJP and the RSS-led Sangh Parivar. The state will be bifurcated into two UTs with effect from October 31. The Modi government asserted in Parliament that Article 370 was the “root cause” of terrorism and had deprived the state of development. The state’s “real voices” will offer their perspective on issues ranging from reservation and triple talaq.

The BJP, sources said, will soon ask its state leaders, in particular leaders of its youth wing (BJYM), to get in touch with locals who could share their perspective on the Modi government’s decision. Sources said Ladakh MP Jamyang Tsering Namagyan, who earned the praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “outstanding” speech in Parliament against Article 370, will also share his experiences and will also be requested to get in touch with other “real voices”, particularly from the  Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.

“Why should Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, not get the benefit of the Right to Education? When we talk about women’s rights, why a woman born in the state should be deprived of her rights, why should a student from the state not be provided with the best of education in his own state? Why the National Health Protection Scheme (Ayushman Yojana) should not be implemented in the state and why the Valley’s youth should be used for stone-pelting by separatists? Article 370 has deprived the state of development, and through this platform, we want to present real stories from Kashmir and Ladakh,” said a senior BJP leader.

For those not comfortable about getting their perspective video-recorded, specially in the Valley, the platform will have a section for articles penned by the “real voices of Kashmir”. The party will also contact the beneficiaries of the Modi government’s key schemes like Ujjwala, Gram Sadak Yojana, electrification, among others, to narrate their experiences on this platform.

The party hopes that its initiative will help to negate the propaganda against the government’s decision on Article 370 and spread a “positive narrative”. Also, with the “tremendous response” its ongoing membership drive has been getting in Jammu and Kashmir, the party is sure that more and more people would come out to share their stories on its platform. Over one lakh people have joined the BJP in the Valley alone.

Tags: modi government, article 370
Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi