Accusing the BJP of double standards over the obnoxious trend of J&K Police filing FIR against the Indian Army in Kashmir, scores of Panther activists led by Mr. Harsh Dev Singh Chairman JKNPP staged a vociferous protest demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The infuriated protestors rebuked the Saffron party for surrendering once again over its tall slogans of ‘56 inches chest of PM Modi’, ‘Zero tolerance against terror’, etc merely for keeping its alliance intact with its Kashmir centric partner PDP and the separatists in good humour.Addressing the media, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that the ominous BJP-PDP coalition had been appeasing the communal separatists and the stone pelters who were overtly assaulting and manhandling the security personnel in Kashmir. He lamented that during the bizarre era of last three years in J&K, the revered Indian Soldiers were consistently heckled, stoned, jeered, humiliated and even slapped which had never happened before. He said that the Indian Army had relentlessly protected our sovereignty and integrity but their victimization at the hands of anti-national elements in full public view had raised the question mark on the credibility of the BJP and its kernel philosophy of nationalism.
Referring to the Kulgam episode a couple of days ago, he divulged that once again FIR was registered against the Indian Army’s 10 Garhwal Unit when the forces opened fire at a group pelting stones at a patrol party. He said that last month also in Shopian, the mob comprising hundreds of maniacal saboteurs pelted stones on the convoy of 10 Garwal unit and tried to snatch a weapon of a JCO with the intention to lynch him. He regretted that instead of encouraging the morale of the Army, the BJP partnered government once again slapped FIR on Major Aditya and his unit under sec 302 (murder), 307(attempt to murder) and 336(endangering life) of the RPC for no reason. The Army exhibited an exemplary courage of exercising maximum restraint while countering the stone pelters but when the subversives crossed all the limits and posed a threat to the life of a soldier, it had no other option than to open a fire to disperse the crowd in the situation which called for an appropriate action under self defence, Harsh said. He further maintained that an FIR under section 302 of the RPC had also been registered against BSF personnel for countering booing and stone pelting on the security forces in the valley.
Inculpating the sinister alliance for the turmoil and mayhem in the State, Mr. Harsh Dev Singh recalled that earlier also the govt. had buckled under the pressure of the secessionist forces directing the State police to register FIRs u/s 342/149/506 and 367 of the RPC against Major Gogoi of 53 RR and his associates for countering 500 stone pelters by devising a ‘human shield’ strategy during the by polls in Srinagar on April 9 last year. He said that his novice idea had saved many lives of the civilians besides many officials trapped in the polling booth. He regretted that subversives moving scot free in the valley and the humiliation inflicted on the security forces had emboldened the secessionists forces to cause rampage which had exposed the BJP’s pseudo nationalist character with all its chauvinist slogans turning into mere jokes. Mr. Singh demanded immediate withdrawal of such frivolous FIRs slapped on the Army and other security personnel and asked BJP to tender unconditional apology to the security forces for bringing disgrace to them and the entire nation.
Mr. Harsh Dev Singh said that it was utterly shocking to note the BJP leadership making the Armed forces defensive merely to keep its partner PDP in good humour and its alliance intact. Regretting the cowardly surrenders of BJP on varied issues before its coalition partner for the sake of power, he said that the State govt. announcing Rehabilitation policy for the surrendered militants with fan fare in Kashmir while doling humiliation to our brave hearts merited no less than mourning. He said that Panthers party would expose and unveil the treacherous betrayals and political sins committed by the Saffron brigade and shall intensify its stir until both the diametrically opposite poles parted ways in the interest of the State and the country.Prominent among those addressed the rally included M/s. Romesh Khajuria, Sham Gorkha, Mohinder Singh, Udayveer, Vishav Singh, Rajiv Jolly Khosla, Surjit Singh, Dildar Hussain Beg, Gurcharan Singh beside others.