Ahmedabad/Panaji. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel lashed out at the Congress for its alliance with the National Conference (NC) ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections. Chief Minister Patel criticized the Congress for its alliance with the NC and said that this move exposes the ‘real face’ of the party. Voting for the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be held in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1, while the results will be declared on October 4.
NC chief Farooq Abdullah has announced a pre-poll alliance with the Congress for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, where assembly elections will be held for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. Chief Minister Patel said in a video statement, “Congress, which has been out of power for a decade, has once again expressed its intention to play with the unity and security of the country in its greed for power.” Patel said that the people of the country want to know how the Congress is supporting the promises made in the manifesto of the National Conference.
Restoration of Article 370 and restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir as well as implementation of autonomy resolution passed by the then assembly in 2000 are among the 12 guarantees the National Conference has included in its manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections. Patel asked whether the Congress supports a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir and whether it wants to push the Union Territory into an “era of unrest” by bringing back Article 370 and Article 35A.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the Congress is allying with divisive forces for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls after realising that it will not be able to win the election in a united country. He was addressing party workers after laying the foundation stone of the BJP headquarters in Goa. “Those who are opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi have now changed their political strategy. During the Lok Sabha election, Rahul Gandhi was the face of the Opposition but in reality the election was fought by anarchist forces who fabricated false and negative narratives,” Fadnavis claimed.
