NC’s repeated insult to Maharaja Hari Singh is an assault on Dogra pride and Jammu’s identity: BJP
Jammu, 14 July 2026: J&K BJP Spokesperson Dr. Abhijeet Singh Jasrotia, accompanied by BJP Media Incharge Dr. Pardeep Mahotra and senior leader Surinder Singh Gilli, addressed a press conference at the party headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu, condemning the National Conference of deliberately insulting Maharaja Hari Singh and attacking the pride, history and identity of the Dogra community.
J&K BJP Spokesperson Dr. Abhijeet Jasrotia accompanied by Media Incharge Dr. Pardeep Mahotra, and senior leader Surinder Singh Gilli was addressing a press conference at party headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, Jammu.
Dr. Abhijeet Singh Jasrotia said the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference has once again exposed its deep-rooted hostility towards the Dogra legacy by organizing an official programme at Maharaja Hari Singh Park while deliberately omitting the title “Maharaja” before his name. He termed it a calculated attempt to belittle one of the greatest rulers in the history of Jammu & Kashmir.
“This is not an accidental omission but a reflection of the Abdullah family’s long-standing vendetta against Maharaja Hari Singh and the Dogra identity,” he said, adding that insulting the Maharaja amounts to insulting the sentiments of every Dogra.
Launching a sharp attack on political leaders from Jammu, Dr. Jasrotia said their silence over the incident was equally condemnable. “Those elected to represent Jammu cannot remain mute spectators when the region’s greatest icon is repeatedly disrespected. The people of Jammu are watching and will hold them accountable,” he asserted.
Highlighting the Maharaja’s legacy, Dr. Jasrotia said Maharaja Hari Singh believed in equal justice and balanced development for every region of the erstwhile state. He recalled that Maharaja Gulab Singh established the princely state free from British rule, while Maharaja Hari Singh’s historic accession to India secured the future of Jammu & Kashmir as an integral part of the nation.
Questioning the National Conference’s renewed statehood campaign, Dr. Jasrotia said the party was trying to divert attention from its failures through political drama. “The original State of Jammu & Kashmir was created under the Dogra rulers. It is ironic that those who disrespect its architects now lecture the nation on statehood,” he remarked.
Dr. Abhijeet Jasrotia stated that the timing of the NC’s statehood agitation appeared aimed at shifting attention away from Pakistan’s continued atrocities in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir, while accusing the party of maintaining silence over the suffering of displaced people from the occupied territories.
Dr. Jasrotia further said that the National Conference had historically discriminated against the people of the Rajouri and adjoining region along with other regions of Jammu, and treated them as second-class citizens. He asserted that the BJP would never allow the legacy of the Dogra rulers to be insulted for political appeasement.
“Respect for Maharaja Hari Singh is non-negotiable. The BJP will continue to defend Jammu’s history, Dogra identity and nationalist legacy against every attempt to distort or diminish it,” he said.
