J&K politicians will be jailed again if they support violence: BJP leader

A senior BJP leader on Saturday warned that if Kashmiri politicians don’t mend their ways and continue to support violence after their release, ‘they would be arrested again.”

J&K BJP general secretary (organization) Ashok Koul said his party feels that all political leaders taken into preventive custody after 5 August 2019 should be released conditionally.

“They should be allowed to walk free once they assure of not fanning trouble on (revocation of) Article 370. (But) if they don’t mend their ways, then authorities should keep them in jails,” he told reporters in south Kashmir hill station of Pahalgam.

Koul, who had gone to Pahalgam to boost the morale of BJP cadres, who have been shifted to the hill station due to security reasons in the recent days, said that he discussed the issue with the administration and urged them to provide adequate security to all political workers.

Asked about the rise in resignations of BJP workers after militants killed a few panchayat members in the recent days, Koul said, “Our cadre organized four programs in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on August 5 which vindicates killings will not deter BJP workers from taking the mission of the party to its logical conclusion.”

On holding of Assembly polls in J&K, the BJP leader said once the delimitation process is complete, elections will be held. “Election Commission has already started the process and soon concrete results will come out,” he said.

He also urged the UT administration to take tough action against 500 employees allegedly involved in anti-national activities.