Describing it as “unfortunate”, National Conference (NC) president and MP, Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Monday attacked the government for fixing G20 meetings in Ladakh and Kashmir, but not in Jammu and also slammed the local BJP leaders for not raising the issue.
He also opposed the settlement of non-locals in Jammu and claimed that the Dogra identity is under threat.
“It is very unfortunate that the G20 meeting can be held in Ladakh and Kashmir but not in Jammu. Is Jammu not important? It is unfortunate that not a single BJP leader, even those who chanted ‘Jammu, Jammu and Dogra, Dogra’ raised the issue. They have taken Jammu for granted believing that it is in their pocket,” he told reporters on the side-lines of a party function here.
Asked about the public notice issued by the J&K Housing Board seeking online applications from people, who have migrated to Jammu temporarily or permanently, for allotment of 336 flats under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) Mission here, Farooq said, “It exposes what we have been saying all the time that demographic change is being brought about.”
“Jammu is going to lose its identity, the Dogra identity is going to disappear and that is what Maharaja Hari Singh – the last Dogra ruler fought against. It was not NC founder Sheikh Abdullah or our party that brought the state subject law in 1927 for job and land protection. The Maharaja wanted his culture and identity to remain intact, Abdullah said.
Farooq said if outsiders are settled here, where will the locals go? “They want to the Dogra identity to vanish and it is very surprising that not a single BJP leader speaks about it. The people from outside will settle here and take our land and jobs slowly,” the NC leader said
On the 20 April terrorist attack on an army truck in the Poonch district that left five soldiers dead, Farooq said contrary to the BJP’s claims, terrorism is still alive in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Has terrorism ever been finished? They were claiming that terrorism is finished with the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019. There is no Article 370 now, but terrorism is still there,” the former chief minister said, adding that “terrorism had heightened in the region”.
He said the killing of five soldiers is a “shame for us and we regret the loss”.