Will work to remove Article 370 when we have numbers in Parliament, says BJP

Jammu: The BJP on Sunday said that the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution continues to be part of the party's core ideology and it will work in that direction whenever it garners the required numbers in Parliament.

"As far as the abrogation of Article 370 is concerned, it continues to be part of the core ideology of BJP, but right now we don't have enough numbers in Parliament to do away with it ... but in future when we have the required numbers we will work towards its removal," BJP national spokesman Sambit Patra told reporters here on Sunday.

Repealing Article 370, which grants special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir, would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament as the Constitution would have to be amended.

Patra said the BJP and PDP are ideologically different but both the parties came together to provide a stable government to the people of the state and for the sake of development.

"People here want development, the coalition has provided a historic opportunity, respecting the mandate of the people of all the three regions, now it should become a successful experiment for the sake of good governance and development," he said.

Patra said "small controversies" do crop up when the coalition partners have differences in their core ideology but the Jammu & Kashmir government was being guided by the common minimum programme agreed upon by the two parties in the form of agenda for alliance.

Accusing the Congress of running a disinformation campaign against the Narendra Modi government, the BJP spokesman said it was during the UPA tenure that major corporations were being benefited whereas the current government was working for the welfare of the poor.

"The UPA government, led by Congress, gave away coal blocks and spectrum to benefit these corporate houses, but the current government has benefited by selling the same to these corporate and the money is being used for the welfare of the poor," he said.

"Our stand is clear on this and we maintain that he should not be given a passport. The Congress has never been in favour of the separatists and national security is our primary concern," she said.

The Congress leader alleged that incidents of cross border ceasefire violations have increased since the new government took over at the Centre.

"Where has that 56-inch chest gone which used to claim that we will give a befitting reply to the Pakistan side? Now you see that the incidents of cross border firing have seen a remarkable increase in the past one year," she said.

Commenting on the recent remarks of Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi that "the people who want to eat beef must go to Pakistan", she said that it was "very unfortunate".

"They won elections on the issue of development, but now they have taken a U-turn on every such issue, be it the black money or others ... This government is a total failure ... Now they want to decide what the people of the country should eat, what they should wear and what they should watch ... This is really unfortunate," she said.

Accusing BJP of cheating the people of Jammu region, Ojha said that the people in Jammu who voted for the party were now feeling disenchanted. "Be it the issue of AIIMS, or the artificial lake, the people of Jammu have been duped by the BJP who has compromised on everything just to be in power with the PDP," she said.