Srinagar:
The BJP's plan to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Republic Day is running into new resistance.
Sources in the state government say the BJP's march, Ekta Yatra, flagged off earlier this month by Nitin Gadkari, may not be allowed to enter the state. The yatra is made up of largely youth workers of the BJP and is headed from West Bengal to Srinagar.
The BJP's route has also led to separatists warning that they will hold their own march on January 26 to Lal Chowk.
It's that sort of tension that the government is desperate to avoid.
Lal Chowk is where Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite in 1948 - a speech that forms the basis of the separatist discourse. The BJP says by bringing the flag here, it wants to drive home the point that Kashmir is an integral part of India.
"During their five years rule, the BJP did not come here with the flag. Instead they came a with peace process. On January 26, you will see, who gets to hoist the flag at Lal Chowk," says Yasin Malik, leader of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
The BJP has been told its members are welcome to join the official government function at Bakshi Stadium.
"In the national interest, they should not do anything that could precipitate trouble and once again reignite the sort of problems that we with great difficulty dealt with in the summer of last year," said Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.
Sources in the state government say the BJP's march, Ekta Yatra, flagged off earlier this month by Nitin Gadkari, may not be allowed to enter the state. The yatra is made up of largely youth workers of the BJP and is headed from West Bengal to Srinagar.
The BJP's route has also led to separatists warning that they will hold their own march on January 26 to Lal Chowk.
It's that sort of tension that the government is desperate to avoid.
Lal Chowk is where Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru promised Kashmir a plebiscite in 1948 - a speech that forms the basis of the separatist discourse. The BJP says by bringing the flag here, it wants to drive home the point that Kashmir is an integral part of India.
"During their five years rule, the BJP did not come here with the flag. Instead they came a with peace process. On January 26, you will see, who gets to hoist the flag at Lal Chowk," says Yasin Malik, leader of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
The BJP has been told its members are welcome to join the official government function at Bakshi Stadium.
"In the national interest, they should not do anything that could precipitate trouble and once again reignite the sort of problems that we with great difficulty dealt with in the summer of last year," said Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir.
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