BJP leader rejects J&K statehood resolution as unnecessary

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tarun Chugh has dismissed a resolution on statehood passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly as unnecessary, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already promised to restore the region’s statehood. Chugh, a senior BJP leader, made the comments in Jammu on Saturday after reviewing organisational matters with BJP national general secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh.

He described the resolution passed by the Omar Abdullah-led government as an “eyewash” and said it was intended to divert attention from what he called the National Conference and Congress’s declining popularity. “There was no need for a resolution on Statehood,” Chugh said. He argued that Modi had made a commitment in the Lok Sabha and remained committed to it.

Chugh also criticised the National Conference’s reference to its 2000 autonomy resolution. He called on the party to stop what he described as separatist politics, saying such an approach would not address the population’s “dire needs”. The BJP leader accused the National Conference administration of failing on development, its promises and its manifesto.

He said the party was instead focusing on what he called “resolution games”. Chugh further said Jammu and Kashmir was no longer the same as it had been in the 1990s and claimed that the BJP was expanding in the region, with people joining the party. Meanwhile, Santosh chaired a meeting with BJP legislators in Jammu and reviewed the party’s functioning.

Chugh said the BJP’s role included safeguarding nationalism.