BJP shows strength in Kashmir, attacks Omar government for ‘double rhetoric’ and raises 2010 killing toll India News

SRINAGAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party put Leader of Opposition in J&K Assembly Sunil Sharma at the forefront of its political attack on the Omar Abdullah government at its inaugural rally in Srinagar on Saturday.Sharma, who represents Padar constituency in Kishtwar district, alternated between Urdu and Kashmiri in his address to hundreds of party members, accusing the ruling National Conference (NC) of pursuing a “double narrative” on the Kashmir issue and failing to fulfill its promises on employment and welfare schemes.Welcoming the new members from the People’s Democratic Party, National Committee and Congress, BJP president and BJP MP Sat Sharma said the continuous influx of leaders and workers from various sectors in Kashmir showed the party’s growing base.“He (CM Omar Abdullah) says one thing in Delhi and another in Kashmir,” Sunil Sharma said on the occasion, adding that NC leaders have portrayed Kashmiris in a negative light before the central government while openly expressing sympathy for their sufferings in the Valley. “Why don’t people see this pun?” he wondered.However, it was his attempt to compare two defining moments in Kashmir’s history that attracted special attention and drew the ire of the NC, which accused the BJP of “manufacturing a narrative”.Sharma pointed to the 2010 riots, when more than 100 civilians, many of them teenagers, were killed in months-long protests and clashes with police and security forces. The first people killed included 13-year-old Wamiq Farooq and 17-year-old Tufail Mattoo, whose deaths became a rallying point for widespread demonstrations. Sharma said Omar justified the killings of Wamik and Tufail by claiming they were part of an “insurgency” against the government he led at the time.The PPP then cited the events of July 13, 1931, when Maharaja Hari Singh’s troops shot dead 22 people outside Srinagar jail during protests against Dogra rule. In Kashmir, the day is widely observed as “Martyrs’ Day”.Those killed in 1931 are commemorated as “martyrs” by the NC, while Wamik, Tufail and others killed in 2010 were accused of rebellion, Sharma said, adding “we need to reflect on this”.He accused NC of exploiting “Kashmir sentiment” after failing to deliver on economic promises, including jobs and a promise of 200 units of free electricity, and claimed the government had outsourced 24,000 jobs to an unknown company. “BJP will hit the road against this covert recruitment drive,” he said.NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar dismissed the allegations. “The BJP has failed to deliver on its promise to restore statehood,” he said. Talking about July 13, 1931, Dar said the day symbolized the rebellion of Kashmiris against the monarchy and preservation of Kashmiri identity. “The BJP is trying to create a false narrative around this incident. They are trying to do the same with the 2010 incident to evoke sentiments in Kashmir in their favour,” he said.