Controversy Erupts as BJP Blames Congress for J&K Turmoil Ahead of Elections

As Rahul Gandhi visits Jammu and Kashmir, BJP leader Tarun Chugh criticizes Congress for decades of turmoil. Chugh accuses the Congress, NCP, and PDP of stalling development and supporting divisive forces. The J&K assembly elections are set to begin with BJP focusing on jobs and women's empowerment.

Hours after Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visited Jammu and Kashmir, BJP National General Secretary and Jammu and Kashmir in-charge Tarun Chugh accused the Congress of wreaking havoc in the region for over 70 years. Chugh claimed that Congress, along with NCP and PDP, has deprived the people of development and progress.

Chugh said, "The Congress has played havoc within the region for the past more than 70 years by playing in the hands of across-the-border forces. The Congress, in league with the NC and PDP, has been waging a proxy war in J&K to spread violence and disturbance to deprive the youth of employment opportunities. It has been a calculated design of the Congress to support divisive forces and to let down the Kashmiri pandits. There have been signals that the Congress is mostly speaking the language of the cross-border forces led by ISI." He also emphasized that PM Modi has promised to restore the state's status once the law and order situation improves.

Chugh continued, "After the Lok Sabha elections, there has been a new upsurge in J&K as the youth have started looking for new job avenues after giving up the misleading way of stones and guns. Jobs for the youth and women's empowerment are the top priorities of the BJP in J&K. For more than 70 years, the Congress, with NCP and PDP, has been depriving people of J&K of development and progress, but the BJP promises to turn a new leaf for the people." Earlier today, Gandhi called for the restoration of the region's statehood, arguing that the withdrawal of its autonomous status has stripped it of its identity and resources.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to release the BJP's election manifesto for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections on September 6, according to party sources. The first phase of the elections will see 219 candidates, with voting scheduled for September 18. This will be the first assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections will be held on September 18, 25, and October 1, with the results announced on October 8. The abrogation of Article 370 led to the state's special status being revoked and its bifurcation into two Union Territories in 2019. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)