4 BJP leaders in J&K’s Budgam resign hours after militants attack party worker
Four Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam resigned from the party on Sunday, hours after BJP worker Abdul Hamid Najar, a resident of Mohiendpora village, was shot at and critically injured by militants in the district.
Among those who resigned are the party general-secretary Budgam and the general-secretary MM Morcha Budgam.
On Sunday morning, militants shot at and injured Abdul Hamid Najar in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. Najar was shifted to a hospital, an official added.
“Attacks on BJP worker show Pakistan’s frustration”
Describing the latest attack as an act of cowardice, Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina said that the increasing attacks on party workers in the Kashmir valley show Pakistan’s frustration and that his party would not be cowed down by such attacks. He said that Pakistan cannot stop the growing popularity of the BJP in the Valley by such “cowardly acts”.
“Those involved in such attacks have neither escaped death in the past nor will they save their lives in future…We will not allow safe havens to terrorists and will make Kashmir free of terrorism,” Raina said.
“Today, the tricolour and BJP flag have reached every nook and corner in the valley, causing frustration to Pakistan which has started attacking the BJP activists through its terrorists. We will intensify our activities and will hoist the tricolour and party flag in every house,” Raina said.
“The people in Jammu and Kashmir know that the terrorists and separatists have destroyed the region at the behest of Pakistan over the past 30 years by indulging in innocent killings,” he said.
The attacks on BJP leaders in the UT intensified after terrorists killed a prominent BJP leader along with his father and brother, who were also members of the saffron party, in north Kashmir last month.
Najar was the third BJP worker targeted by militants within the past one week. Earlier, a BJP leader was killed and another injured in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. He has been shifted to a hospital for treatment.
BJP leaders killed in past in J&K
In July, BJP leader Sheikh Waseem Bari, his father and brother shot dead by militants at Bandipora district in North Kashmir. The militants had opened fire indiscriminately on Bari and his family, following which they succumbed to their injuries. 10 policemen were placed under custody following the attack.
Waseem Bari’s family was reportedly under the protection of eight personal security officers but none of them was present at the spot during the militant attack.
According to reports, soon after Bari’s killing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president from Baramulla Marouf Bhat tendered his resignation from the party. “I hereby resign from the BJYM as a member and any post I held as part of it. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to work for the party,” Bhat said in a Facebook post.
On May 7, 2019 a senior local BJP leader and district vice-president of the party, Gul Mohammad Mir was killed in Anantnag. Shabir Ahmad Bhat, also a district vice-president of the BJP, was killed in Pulwama on August 22, 2018. In 2017, the BJP lost a young local leader Gowhar Bhat from Shopian when he was killed on November 15. “It is a cowardly act done out of frustration by the men, we hope the culprits are taken to task soon,” had said Altaf Thakur, local BJP leader in J&K.
(With inputs from PTI)
