New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to launch an extensive public campaign to explain the rationale behind the Modi government’s decision to do away with both Articles 370 and 35A for Jammu and Kashmir.
The party has decided to start a month-long mass contact programme from 1 September and will hold 35 mega rallies apart from smaller meetings and outreach programmes at 370 venues in tier-1 and tier-II cities. The nationwide programme will also be held in Baramulla, Sopore and Srinagar among other places in Jammu and Kashmir.
“The decision of the government to abrogate Article 370 is a historic decision and this contact programme will be held to explain it from the district level to cities,” said Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
“Union cabinet ministers, ministers, MPs, BJP office-bearers will also participate in it and will tell people the reasons behind this decision and how it is for people’s good and for the nation,” he added. “This platform will also be used for making people aware of their responsibilities too.”
Another senior BJP leader said the party will also ensure to send across the message that Kashmiris should not be ill-treated. “It is important for people to not ill-treat Kashmiris living in different parts of the country and should be sensitive towards them,” the leader added.
Programme in two stages
The mass connect programme will be held in two stages, said the senior leaders. The first stage will see rallies in 35 cities where senior leaders including BJP chief ministers and the party’s central leadership will address people on the benefits of the abrogation of Article 370.
In stage two, the programme will move to the 370 locations in tier II and tier III cities. “Of these, seven places fall under J&K,” said a senior BJP leader. The party has also formed a committee comprising senior BJP leaders to work out the contours of the programme.
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said most parties have welcomed the move except Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and the opposition leaders who tried to visit Srinagar. He termed them as “perennial trouble creators”.
“Don’t make it an issue of the opposition. They (Congress) has isolated themselves,” said Pradhan when asked whether the BJP had resorted to this mass connect programme owing to the opposition.
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It is good a effort. It will go a long way in removing unnecessary rumors created by vested interests. Every care should be taken make every Kashmiri is part of India and their future in safe hands.
Great care should be taken to portray Kashmiris in a positive light, creating conditions of harmony and reconciliation. Some of the negativity that has been generated by specific channels needs to be undone. Ultimately, this is a decision that needs to be welcomed by the people of the state. Not an issue that is meant to animate the citizens of Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.