J&K BJP to celebrate 5th anniversary of Article 370 abrogation with rally; PDP, DPAP to protest

Jammu, Aug 4 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP will hold the ‘Ekatma Mahatsav’ rally to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Article 370 abrogation here on Monday, a party leader said.

Security has been beefed up in the region as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order during the event.

Opposition parties, including the Congress and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have criticised the BJP for organising a ceremony to celebrate the Article 370 abrogation.

A local PDP leader said a demonstration will be staged outside the party headquarters in Gandhinagar here to observe August 5 as a “black day”.

The Democratic Progressive AZad Party (DPAP) will also hold a protest at the Maharaja Hari Singh Park here on Monday to condemn the Article 370 abrogation, a party spokesperson said.

The ‘Ekatma Mahotsav’ rally will be held at Bana Singh Stadium in R S Pura on Monday to commemorate the complete unification of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of India on August 5, 2019 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J-K BJP general secretary and former MLC Vibodh Gupta said.

“The day of August 5, 2019 is a very important day in our lives. On this vital day five years ago, a historic blunder was corrected and we, the people of Jammu and Kashmir, united completely with the rest of India. We are now able to enjoy all the rights and the liberties, and are progressing on the path of development,” Gupta said.

Meanwhile, lashing out at the saffron party over the abrogation of Article 370, J-K Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma said, “What was achieved in five years, the BJP should answer to the people, especially Dogras, instead of rubbing salts on their wounds.”

Taking potshots at J-K BJP for its “shamelessness and compulsion to celebrate the day of J-K’s destruction”, Sharma said the saffron party is “celebrating the downgrading” of the historic Dogra state, snatching its status, dignity, identity and rights of the people of J&K.

A PDP leader said the party is observing August 5, 2019 as a “black day” and will stage a protest outside the party headquarters on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Article 370’s abrogation.

Security has been beefed up across Jammu region, especially along the highways to maintain law and order, a police officer said.