BJP and RSS workers are the new targets of terrorists in Kashmir; Five J&K BJP leaders killed within a month

When India along with the newly created Union Territory Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) was celebrating the completion of a tremendous one year of the decision to abrogate Article 370 and 35A, another nationalist voice was silenced by Pakistan-sponsored stooges. The killing of another BJP leader has sent shockwaves across the region.

On August 9, another Kashmir-based BJP politician Abdul Hamid Najar who was District president of Budgam BJP Other Backward Class (OBC) Morcha was shot at by terrorists. He succumbed to his injuries on August 10 and has become the fifth member of BJP to be killed by terrorists in the turbulent region since last month. Earlier on August 6, BJP Sarpanch Sajad Ahmad Khanday died due to injuries after he was shot by terrorists in Kulgam.

Nationalists’ voices working in J&K are facing a higher security threat. While the Central Government is doing everything to eradicate militancy and separatism from J&K, the stooges of Pakistan are trying to suppress every single voice who speaks in favour of India especially those who are affiliated with the BJP and RSS. The consistent attacks targeting BJP and RSS leaders have instilled fear among the local ranks of the BJP. Abdul Hamid Najar was shot near his home while taking a morning walk.

According to the sources, fearing the killings, around 15 to 20 BJP members have publicly quit the party since the attacks began last month – eight of them after the killing of Abdul. According to former BJP MLC Surinder Ambadar, the BJP and RSS members are being targeted because it’s the only party and organisation reaching out to local people at the grassroots level. The anti-India forces have been tense since Prime Minister Modi’s decision to revoke Article 370 and 35A. They are against the development of the region”.

“When all other political parties have decided to sit back, members of the BJP and the RSS are in the field, reaching out to the people and telling them about the initiatives taken by the government. We are informing the locals how the abrogation will bring development for the region”.

“We all know that in the days to come, there may be even more threat. But it will only strengthen our resolve to fight militancy. For BJP and RSS members, service of the people is the only purpose”, former MLC said.

These attacks have created a wave of fear among the BJP workers in the Valley. The fallout of which is that many of them are now tendering their resignations.

Another BJP leader from Kashmir Khalid Jehangir said to the Organiser that the killing of BJP and RSS leaders in Kashmir is because of hate created by other regional political parties based in Kashmir. Few BJP leaders are resigning because socially they have been declared untouchable in Valley. The government needs to have a probe so that only nationalist people are being targeted in the Valley.

On the targeted killings, J&K expert Jaibans Singh said, “Terrorism in Kashmir follows a very well thought out process, whose policy framework is created by terror masters in Pakistan with the assistance of professionals highly skilled in the art of psychological operations. Central to this process is the need to keep the divisive and disruptive agenda alive in Kashmir by application of a host of measures.” He also said that policy is designed to nip in the bud all emanating threats to the core agenda.

“The vicious attack on BJP workers and Sarpanches of Kashmir needs to be seen in this context. The emerging environment of peace and prosperity has caused panic among the terror masters to the extent that they have resorted to the very last option of elimination. The reaction of terrorist policymakers is enough motivation to carry on with this noble initiative. It is showing a potential to break the backbone of terrorism, disruption and divisiveness in the Valley”, Jaibans Singh added.

After the August 5 decision, the newly carved Union territory has been moving towards normality. The top commanders of terrorist organisations have been killed; The stone-pelting incidents and slogans against India and the Indian Army has become a thing of the past. But these targeted killings are a matter of worry, and the government should seriously look into the matter as it will create fear among the youth who want to join the nationalist forces in the Valley.

Whether BJP leader Abdul Hamid,Wasim Bari or RSS leader Chandrakant Sharma, who was killed in Kishtwar last year, they have been explicitly targeted for their nationalist ideology.

Brig (Retd) Anil Gupta who is also the spokesperson of BJP in the region has strongly condemned the brutal and cowardly killing of BJP worker Abdul Hamid Najar. While talking to the Organiser, Anil Gupta said,” Another soldier of BJP has laid down his life for the nation. There is more than what meets the eye. It is clear that the forces who don’t like the grassroots level democracy at panchayat levels to flourish are doing this,” said Anil Gupta.

“Few people and some political parties do not want normalcy in Kashmir. These forces want to derail the development process and try to increase the gap between the locals and the government. They feel that if BJP succeeds in connecting to the people of J&K, what will happen to their politics”, he said.

He also appealed to the local administration to seriously look into the matter of consistent killings of nationalist forces in the Valley. He has urged the police top brass to work out a “security model” for its leaders and workers. “The anti-national forces are trying to create a perception that the BJP Government with larger Hindutva agenda is trying to bring demographic change in the region and using Islamist forces to kill these local workers,” said a political analyst on request of anonymity.