BJP today said people in the state have high hopes that Manmohan Singh will address the issue of "regional discrimination" and asked the Centre to shun the "Kashmir-centric approach."
As prime minister Manmohan Singh began his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP today said people in the state have high hopes that he will address the issue of "regional discrimination" and asked the Centre to shun the "Kashmir-centric approach."
"The prime minister's visit to Kashmir has raised hopes that he will come with another special package to address the vital issues pertaining to J&K, including imbalance and discrimination among different regions of the state," party spokesperson Nirmal Kamal said in a statement.
"BJP will like the PM to address the core issues to avoid another kind of separatist movement in Jammu and Ladakh regions, whose interests have always been put to back burner by Kashmir-centric leadership," she said.
The BJP leader alleged that the "discriminatory policies" have created a wedge among the people in various regions of the state.
"The glaring example of this being that Jammu has more area and population but has only 37 representatives in state legislative assembly, while Kashmir valley has less area and population but has 46 MLAs," the spokesperson said.
The BJP also asked the prime minister not to give any assurance to separatists over repealing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and withdrawal of troops.
"Instead the army should continue to give support to civil administration in fighting Pakistan-sponsored terrorism," Kamal said.
She said the army is doing a commendable job by coming to
the rescue of people during natural calamities and extending
help to people through 'Sadbhavana projects'.
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