NC demands apology from PM over Jyoti's remarks

Hitting out hard at the Union Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti’s comments on minorities living in the country, ruling National Conference on Thursday demanded an unconditional apology from the Prime Minister Narendera Modi and BJP President Amit Shah.

A statement issued by party’s general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar and provincial president Nasir Aslam Wani said, “The comments made by the minister are outrageous and offensive to the minorities of India in general and people of Kashmir in particular.”

Especially because of polls ongoing in the state, BJP’s campaign has been dotted with communal overtones and remarks of this nature, the party said.

“Her comments are directly aimed at the people of Kashmir as well as the minorities living in the entire country,” the party  claimed.

The senior NC leaders demanded that the Prime Minister and as well as President of BJP Amit Shah should tender an unconditional apology and explain how a minister in their Government can have such an ideology.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also lashed at out BJP for its ‘communal vitriol against minorities’ in India and Kashmir in particular and said that the trend of BJP leaders ‘unabashedly abusing minorities and humiliating Kashmiris was extremely alarming.’
“It is a good thing that Kashmiris have seen the real face of the BJP. Sometimes they come here wearing masks but these masks keep on slipping,” Omar told reporters after addressing a poll rally in Tral town of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

Omar said he was not worried about the comments made by the Union Minister but it is important that people understand what BJP is all aboutJyoti stoked a controversy on December 2 by allegedly making communal remarks in an election rally in Delhi.

“This is the BJP which wants ‘Mission 44’ here in J&K, this is the BJP that wants people of Kashmir to follow them. This is the BJP that people need to be warned about,” he said.