Omar asks BJP to abandon Tricolour hoisting plans

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday urged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to abandon its plans to hoist the National Flag at Lal Chowk here on Republic Day.

He said any attempt by the BJP to hoist the Tricolour will lead to trouble in the state.

?It is strange that after 19 years, when BJP hoisted flag in Lal Chowk in 1992, it has again struck them (BJP) to hoist the flag in Lal Chowk. It has exposed their intention of creating trouble,? the chief minister said on the sidelines of a function.

The BJP?s youth wing?s ?Rashtriya Ekta Yatra?, which started from West Bengal on Wednesday, is scheduled to wind up at Lal Chowk with the hoisting of the Tricolour on Republic Day (January 26).

Asking BJP to call off its Yatra, Abdullah said it will do harm rather than good for the fragile peace in the Kashmir Valley.

?I appeal to the BJP that it is after serious endeavours that situation in Kashmir has improved. They should not create trouble and stop the Yatra as they have no benefit by continuing it,? he said.

BJP national president Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday flagged off the 3,037-km Yatra from West Bengal to Kashmir.