Describing as “unfortunate” the detention of its senior leaders in Jammu, the BJP on Wednesday rubbished charges that it was playing politics over hoisting the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar. The party said it could move the court against the “unconstitutional and illegal” stand taken by the Jammu and Kashmir administration to prevent its leaders from hoisting the national flag.
On Wednesday, the party felicitated its senior leaders who participated in the Rashtriya Ekta Yatra. These included Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, her counterpart in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, party general secretary Ananth Kumar and youth wing chief Anurag Thakur.
The BJP leaders were arrested on Tuesday by the Jammu and Kashmir administration while they were leading the yatra to enter the state to reach Lal Chowk. They were released on Wednesday. The party also felicitated its activists who reached near Lal Chowk today and were arrested by the police personnel while making unsucessful attempt to hoist the flag.
“What has happened in J&K to deal with the BJP’s campaign to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk is something which is totally indefensible. It is illegal and criminal. I think we should knock at the doors of the courts in respect of some of (these issues),” BJP parliamentary party chairman L.K. Advani said.
Speaking on the issue, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said, “Some people say there is politics in hoisting the national flag at Lal Chowk. I don’t understand what politics can there be in hoisting the flag... This is not politics but our duty.” Mr Gadkari hoisted the national flag at party headquarters. Mr Advani said the BJP’s flag hoisting plan has brought to the forefront the issue of “fully integrating” J&K with the rest of the country.