Jammu : BJP leader Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali gave a controversial statement during an event in Rajouri after losing the assembly election to National Conference Leader Javaid Iqbal Chowdhary with margin of 18908 votes.
The BJP leader demanded a separate Union Territory for Rajouri-Poonch and drew criticism from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC).
In his address, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali criticized the National Conference and other regional parties for consistently neglecting Rajouri-Poonch for the past seven decades. He said, "These political parties have ignored the developmental needs of our region hence we should fight for separate Union Territory."
He urged the people to unite and demand Union Territory status for Rajouri-Poonch. He said, "Our region has long been used as a vote bank by regional parties. Now is the time for the people of Rajouri-Poonch to take a stand and push for Union Territory status to ensure our rightful development."
Advocate Aditya Gupta, spokesperson of the People's Democratic Party, said that after losing the assembly elections, this is a shameful conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to further divide Jammu and Kashmir. He said that first, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were divided into two parts, and now there is an attempt to divide Jammu and Kashmir further, which is part of BJP's plan. He added that earlier, BJP promised a Dogra Chief Minister in Jammu, and now they have started playing divisive politics.
Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, Provincial Secretary of the National Conference, said that BJP leaders now want to divide on regional grounds, and this is BJP's conspiracy to separate Rajouri and Poonch from Jammu and Kashmir. However, the people of Rajouri-Poonch deserve praise for voting against divisive politics.
BJP Chief Spokesperson Advocate Sunil Sethi, while speaking to ETV Bharat, said that this is Zulfkar Ali Chaudhry’s personal statement and that the Bharatiya Janata Party stands by its commitment that Jammu and Kashmir, currently a Union Territory, will become a state again. He emphasized that no force will be allowed to divide the state. He added that the Bharatiya Janata Party wants equal development in every region of Jammu and Kashmir, not division on basis of region .
It should be noted that in his controversial statement, Chaudhry Zulfkar also reminded the National Conference to fulfill the promises made during the election campaign, including free electricity, free rations, free gas cylinders, and one lakh jobs annually. He said, "It is now their responsibility to fulfill the promises made to the people."
