Advani playing dangerous divisive game in J

Srinagar, Aug 19 (UNI) Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today urged Sangh Parivar and its prime ministerial candidate L K Advani not to fish in the troubled waters of Jammu and Kashmir by fomenting trouble in the state.

In a statement issued here, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said Advani and his cohorts had turned Jammu into a cockpit of communal intrigue which could destabilise not only Jammu and Kashmir, but the entire South Asian region.

''Advani's pronouncement to lead the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti (SASS) rally in Jammu on August 25 has uncovered the concealed nexus of the Samiti with the Sangh Parivar,'' she said and added it was now clear that BJP was fuelling the Jammu agitation only for political purposes.

Ms Mehbooba said BJP's open support to communalists might be understandable in view of Advani's prime ministerial ambitions but it could cost the country very heavily.

''After Babri Masjid demolition and the Gujarat riots the BJP is reverting to the old Praja Parishad tactics which in fact gave birth to the Jan Sangh more than half a century back,'' she said.

But the events then had caused a festering sore in the body of Indo-Pak subcontinent causing an unending cycle of human misery and destruction. It could be worse now, she warned.

The PDP chief alleged that Sangh Parivar was playing a dangerous game in stoking the fires of communalism in Jammu and pitting parts of that region against Kashmir by branding the protests in the two regions as a battle between nationalists and separatists.

Ridiculing the BJP's accusation that the truckers who refused to ply outside Kashmir were supporters of PDP and the separatists, the PDP president said Mr Advani's party in Jammu and Punjab had created a fear psychosis in those areas which regenerated the horrors of Partition.

BJP's Transport Minister from Punjab camped in Jammu to oversee the blockade operations announced formally by the state BJP president Ashok Khajuria on June 22 along with an ultimatum against Muslims to leave Jammu, Ms Mehbooba asked.

Ms Mehbooba said Kashmiris had given a fitting reply to the Sangh Parivar by uniting their ranks and remaining peaceful throughout the current agitation. By ensuring the safety of half a million Yatris and providing them all amenities even while suffering from the fall-out of economic blockade, they had added a new chapter of glory to their history.

''Not deterred by the threats of police action and deregistration, we will continue our struggle against forces of chauvinism and communalism,'' she said adding it was immaterial if her party was allowed to fight elections or not.

''Elections are no priority at a time when our people are engaged in a battle for survival,'' she said.

UNI BAS PK KP1758