Diplomat Correspondent
Jammu,DD: National Conference Additional General Secretary and former Minister, Ajay Kumar.Sadhotra, today took a sharp jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party 11lp for systematically trampling the legacy of Maharaja Hari Singh, by bifurcating and degrading Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking at a function held at Dargali and Barbalwan Panchayat Kangar in Jammu North
Assembly Constituency to poocha relief material among rain- flood hit people, organized
by Subash Bhagat Block President, Sadhotra said if there is any service the BJP has done to the Maharaja, it is the unfortunate bifurcation of his vast and historic state into two Union Territories, and thereby degrading it to the lowest possible political status.
“The Maharaja could never have imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that the state would be reduced to this humiliation, he said.
The National Conference Additional General Secretary strongly criticized the BJP for destroying the constitutional safeguards that had been enshrined under Article 35A, a provision that guaranteed jobs and land rights exclusively to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. This historic safeguard was not merely a legal clause; it was a solemn assurance to the people of the state, resonating with the spirit of Maharaja Hari
Singh’s laws to protect the interests of state subjects. The BJP’s erasure of Article 35A is
nothing short of a betrayal of the Maharaja’s vision and the aspirations of people,” he said.
Sadhotra lamented that by abrogating Article 370 and scrapping 35A, the BJP government has inflicted wounds that strike at the very soul of J&K’s identity. He slammed the BJP for taking away the rights people, dismembering the state, and leaving
it at the mercy of bureaucratic control from Delhi. This is not governance, it is disempowerment, he added.
Sadhotra said that the BJP is now making loud claims of reverence for Maharaja Hari Singh while simultaneously undermining everything he stood for.
“This shedding of crocodile tears for the Maharaja is not only ironic but also a travesty of the truth. On one hand, they eulogize him in speeches, and on the other, they destroyed the laws for protecting the rights of the people. Such duplicity cannot mislead the people of Jammu and Kashmir who know the difference between hollow rhetoric and genuine
respect, he added.
Sadhotra reiterated that the people of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh will never forget the injustice done to them under the BJP regime. The BJP must be held accountable for pushing J&K into a state of political disempowerment, he said.
Sadhotra called upon the people, especially the youth, to see through the BJP’s double standards and join hands to restore the dignity and rights of Jammu and Kashmir and safeguarded by the framers of the Constitution.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Raghbir Singh District President, Tilak Raj Bhagat District Secretary, Rakesh Pahalwan YNC District President, Subash Chander Bhagat Block President, Ved Parkash Bhardwaj Organizer, Ch Subash Chander, Ch Hameed, Ganga Ram Bhagat, Ashu Sharma, Ashok Kumar, Balram Singh.DD