National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah claimed on Tuesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is attempting to replicate Russia- and China-like rule in the country, saying that the INDIA bloc has come forward to safeguard the Constitution, even at the cost of “our lives”.
He targeted the Centre regarding the Katchatheevu island issue, which was transferred to Sri Lanka in the 1970s. He questioned why the BJP-led government remains silent on China’s ongoing incursions in Ladakh and its territorial claims in Arunachal Pradesh.
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“The INDIA bloc has been formed to safeguard the Constitution because there is apprehension that the Constitution will be finished (by the BJP) … The same thing will happen here (in India) as (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and China President (Xi Jinping) are sitting there. They (the BJP) are making attempts as they want to rule the country for life (without any opposition),” Abdullah told reporters.
“INDIA will not allow this to happen and protect the Constitution given by Ambedkar, even at the cost of our lives. We will not allow this Constitution to get buried,” he said.
Abdullah made these remarks during his visit to Jammu, where he accompanied Raman Bhalla, the Congress candidate contesting from the Jammu Lok Sabha constituency, which is scheduled to go to polls during the second phase on April 26.
Bhalla, joined by Bharat Singh Solanki, the AICC’s Jammu and Kashmir in-charge, and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Vikar Rasool Wani, participated in a pre-nomination roadshow. Both the Congress and the National Conference are part of the opposition INDIA bloc.
Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of the Congress for ceding the strategic Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka in the 1970s, Abdullah redirected attention to China’s reported incursions into Ladakh and its claims on territory in Arunachal Pradesh.
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“How much land is with China, why are they (the central government) not talking about it? China has grabbed thousands of kilometres of our land and we raised the issue in the Parliament but they did not answer. Let them reply on this first,” the Srinagar MP said.
Abdullah, also a former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, stressed the importance of prioritising national concerns, advocating, “talk of our own land. Talk about the land of Ladakh”.
(With PTI Inputs)