Srinagar, July 19: Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma on Sunday announced that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has postponed its proposed July 20 protest in Jammu and Kashmir in view of the flash floods that have caused widespread loss of life and property in Poonch and Rajouri districts.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Sharma said the party had decided to defer the protest, scheduled from Ghanta Ghar, Lal Chowk, to the Civil Secretariat, as the prevailing situation demanded humanitarian support rather than political activity.
“Politics can wait. At this moment, humanity should come first and every political party should stand with the victims,” Sharma said.
He said the BJP leadership and party workers were deeply saddened by the tragedy and had resolved to stand with the affected families instead of holding demonstrations.
“As a responsible political party, we have decided to postpone the protest. Holding a protest at this stage will also hamper the administration’s rescue operations,” he said, adding that the protest had only been postponed and a fresh date would be announced after the situation normalises.
Sharma said BJP teams would immediately leave for the flood-hit districts of Poonch and Rajouri to assist the affected families and extend all possible support.
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were closely monitoring the situation and had reviewed the ground situation with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
Sharma also said party leaders had been directed to visit the affected areas, assess the damage and convey the ground situation to the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration.
Referring to the impact of the disaster, Sharma said one death had been officially reported in Rajouri while another person was feared missing, and 16 deaths had been reported in Poonch. He added that, based on information available with the party, the death toll in the two districts was estimated to be around 18.
He further said flash floods had also affected Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar and Bani-Basohli, although no major loss of life had been reported from these areas so far.
Expressing grief over the tragedy in Surankote, Sharma said eight members of a family were swept away in the floods, with only three bodies recovered till now.
Comments are closed.