Srinagar, Jun 17: Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma on Wednesday said the conversion of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory had ended the era of bloodshed and fear, and accused the previous state government of failing to maintain law and order.
The senior BJP leader, addressing reporters here, accused the previous state government of presiding over a reign of terror where “bullets were fired at the hearts of youth and on the chests of school-going children.” He claimed the direct control of the Ministry of Home Affairs over the UT’s law-and-order apparatus had transformed the ground reality.
“Today, when the same state has been transformed into a Union Territory and the control of the line order has been taken by the MHA, the roads here do not see blood,” Sharma said.
He also alleged that the erstwhile dispensation had weaponised the Public Safety Act (PSA) and other stringent laws to suppress dissent, a practice he claimed had been rendered obsolete. “The youth of Kashmir have come out of the fear of bullets. They are no longer afraid of UAPA or PSA. If you say they should have dual control again, then the youth will have to ask—do you want to live in that same shadow once more?” he questioned.
On the return of Kashmiri Pandits, Sunil Sharma emphasised the community’s centrality to the Valley’s identity. “The Kashmiri Pandit was an identity of Kashmir. Without him, J&K is incomplete,” he said, adding that the Modi government had created an enabling environment for returnees to reclaim their land and property. “Very soon, you will feel that those claiming their land today will be established here,” he assured.
BJP senior leader Sunil Sharma, flanked by party spokespersons Altaf Thakur and Sajid Yusuf, was addressing the media as part of the BJP’s nationwide campaign ’12 Saal Vishwas Ke, Vikas Ke, Jan Kalyan Ke’ to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 12 years in office.
He asserted that the Modi government had remained corruption-free throughout its tenure. “No agency in the world or country has been able to point a finger at this government from the point of view of corruption in the last 12 years,” Sharma claimed, adding that the Centre was releasing development funds “with an open heart.”
Earlier in the day, Sunil Sharma had also dismissed the National Conference-led government in the UT as “unstable,” predicting it would “collapse on its own” due to internal contradictions. He reiterated that restoration of statehood—a key demand of regional parties—would only be considered once the Centre was fully satisfied that peace and stability had been achieved.
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