People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

J&K: BJP's Communal Agenda

IT is, indeed, most unfortunate that the dastardly terrorist attack on the Raghunath temple in Jammu is being used by the BJP to derive political mileage.  Though both the deputy prime minister and the chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir  have stated on the floor of the Parliament and Assembly respectively that this is an act perpetrated by cross-border terrorists, the BJP is making insinuations against the Jammu & Kashmir government to reap electoral benefits in Gujarat. 

The campaign being led by the BJP general secretary and spokesman claims that the release of those wrongly arrested under POTA was responsible for this attack on the temple.  While the chief minister claims that all those who are being released were either cleared by the courts or by the central intelligence agencies, the deputy prime minister claims that the  centre was not consulted on this issue. The veracity of these  claims apart, it is the job of the central  government to extend all support and cooperation to all state governments  that are combating the menace of terrorism.

Instead, since the new government has taken office in Jammu & Kashmir, the Vajpayee government  has, once again, displayed its sectarian agenda.  Rather than behave as the custodian of the Indian Constitution and national interest, it only pursues its communal agenda. 

It is India's tragedy that it has a central government which places the political and electoral interests of the ruling party  above the interests of the country and the people. The country can ill afford to allow this to continue any longer.