Kashmir: Manmohan Singh backs Omar Abdullah on BJP march

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday voiced his support for the Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir over its stand on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) rally to Lal Chowk in Srinagar.

Urging politicians and citizens to practise restraint on Jan 26, Republic Day, he asked people not to create conflicts or score political points, specially mentioning Jammu and Kashmir.

Apprehension is rampart in the state over BJP?s “Ekta Yatra” to Lal Chowk in Srinagar to hoist the national flag on Jan 26 which has spurred a counter-march by the separatists on the same day.

The Omar Abdullah government in the state is geared up with enforcement forces to maintain law and order on the Republic Day as the Director General of Police held a major meeting to review the security arrangements.

The BJP’s youth workers are on their way from West Bengal to Jammu and Kashmir. They plan to end their march at Lal Chowk, where, in 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite. The BJP is determined to hoist the tricolor at Lal Chowk here to prove Kashmir is an integral part of India.

But the government is determined not to allow the BJP march to get in the state.

Calling for peace, Prime Minister Singh on Saturday evening said, “It (Republic Day) is not an occasion to score political points, to embarrass state and local administrations, to create situations that could lead to entirely avoidable problems, or to promote divisive agendas.”

?Republic Day is a solemn occasion when we, the citizens of India, commemorate our proud republic?s founding. It is a day that joins all Indians in a shared celebration of modern nationhood,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that it was all the more important to observe maximum restraint particularly in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmir.

He said that over the years, states have devised their own procedures for Republic Day celebrations within a national framework.

“They would be well within their rights to insist upon punctilious adherence,” he said, seemingly backing the Kashmir government’s decision to not allow the BJP march over law and order concerns.

He assured the backing of the Central government to state government’s in their endeavours to maintain peace.

“It is my hope that all our citizens and political parties will heed this call and will do nothing that will disturb peace and harmony, or detract in any way from the dignity of Republic Day,? he said.