New Delhi, July 21: Cautioning the BJP leadership against politicizing the recent Amarnath land issue, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President and member Parliament Mehbooba Mufti said Monday that Kashmir is not Ayodhya or Gujarat and any attempt to communalize the situation in the state could have disastrous fallout.
Interrupting senior BJP leader L K Advani for his pointed criticism of the cancellation of land diversion to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) in the Parliament Monday, Mehbooba accused BJP of trying to fuel religious polarization in Jammu and Kashmir for electoral gains.
“But I want to make it clear to Mr Advani that Kashmir is not like Ayodhya or Gujarat to be put on fire by BJP and then exploited as an issue for electoral gains,” she said and warned that any overt or covert attempt to fiddle with the State’s special status and hurt the sentiments of its people would have dangerous consequences.
Mehbooba said at a time when Kashmir is struggling to come out of the most difficult times, it has gone through during the recent history, any slipshod statement or action is going to set a blow to the peace efforts. “BJP leadership would be playing with fire by making any reckless remarks on the issues pertaining to Kashmir,” she said.
Ridiculing Advani’s comments that he had facilitated former Pakistan Prime Minister Late Benazir Bhutto’s visit to the Ajmer Sharief Dargah in BJP-ruled Rajasthan during her last trip to India, Mehbooba said it is very disappointing that a leader like Advani should at the floor of the House boast of having made a small goodwill gesture to late Benazir. “I would have appreciated if Mr Advani had something to say about the constructive measures taken by the BJP Government in Rajasthan for the development of the Ajmer Sharief shrine,” she said.
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