JAMMU, May 18: Senior BJP leader and former Health Minister Bali Bhagat launched a fierce attack on National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah along with PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, accusing them of “shamelessly twisting” RSS remarks on Pakistan to revive their “dead separatist politics.”
In a strongly worded statement, Bali Bhagat said the NC and PDP leadership were deliberately spreading propaganda by falsely projecting that the RSS had advocated concessions to Pakistan or sympathy for terrorists.
“RSS never said terrorists should be released. RSS never advocated surrender before Pakistan-sponsored terror. These leaders are maliciously twisting statements to run their separatist agenda and mislead the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” Bhagat said.
He asserted that the RSS has always stood firmly for nationalism, India’s sovereignty and a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, unlike what he termed as the “soft Pakistan-friendly politics” of NC and PDP.
“Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have once again exposed their political mindset. Every time Pakistan comes under global pressure for terrorism, these leaders suddenly become its spokespersons. Their statements repeatedly echo Pakistan’s language,” he said.
Bali Bhagat said the people of the country have not forgotten how NC and PDP leaders repeatedly advocated dialogue and concessions even when innocent civilians and security personnel were being killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists.
“Their hearts bleed for Pakistan, but they remain silent on the victims of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. This selective sympathy exposes their real intentions,” he said.
Taking a direct swipe at the Abdullahs and Mehbooba Mufti, Bhagat alleged that these parties survived politically for decades by “fueling emotional divisions, separatist sentiments and fear psychosis.”
“These dynastic parties are frustrated because the people of Jammu and Kashmir have rejected their divisive politics after the abrogation of Article 370. Today the youth want peace, development and nationalism, not Pakistan-backed narratives,” he added.
The senior BJP leader further said that NC and PDP are trying to create confusion by selectively quoting RSS functionaries while deliberately hiding the RSS’s consistent stand against terrorism and anti-national forces.
“These parties are desperately trying to misuse RSS statements because their own political ground has collapsed. They cannot digest the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is moving ahead on the path of integration and development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Bhagat said.
He warned opposition leaders against “misusing nationalist organizations for petty politics” and said the people of the Union Territory would never support those who “indirectly strengthen separatist narratives.”
“The nation knows very well who always stood with India and who repeatedly tried to appease Pakistan for vote-bank politics. No amount of propaganda can erase their political history,” Bali Bhagat said.