BJP’s Sunil Sharma Hits Out at NC, Says Party Has No Moral Right to Call BJP & RSS Communal

Srinagar, Oct 23: The Leader of the Opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and senior BJP leader, Sunil Sharma, launched a strong attack on the National Conference (NC) on Wednesday, accusing it of hypocrisy and claiming that it had “no moral grounds” to label the BJP or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as communal. Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the first day of the nine-day autumn session of the Assembly, Sharma was responding to remarks made earlier by an NC legislator during obituary references, in which the BJP and RSS were called communal.

“The NC has no moral grounds to call the BJP or the RSS communal. This is the same party that, on April 4, 1979, when Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged, caused unrest across Jammu and Kashmir. Some of the very people who spoke today are descendants of those who burned religious books and attacked places of worship across South Kashmir. They created mayhem and division, so they have no right to call us communal,” Sharma asserted.

The BJP leader went on to claim that the NC’s “communal history” stretches back nearly a century. “Their communal politics started in 1931. I have already mentioned the events of 1979, and if needed, I can also open the chapter of the 1990s. Their record speaks for itself,” he said.

Turning to the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, Sharma mocked the NC’s assertion that it would win all four seats from Jammu and Kashmir. “They say all four seats are theirs, but let’s wait for tomorrow. The NC does not even trust its own legislators. Those who are running behind MLAs, making them swear on the Quran to vote for them, will they claim to have full confidence? Even after all this, they still do not believe in their own members,” he remarked.

The BJP leader also commented on the decorum of the Assembly’s first-day proceedings, stressing that it was a day meant for paying tributes to those who had served the House and passed away. “It is a long-standing tradition that the session begins by offering tributes to deceased members of the House. Today, we paid homage to seven personalities, including former Governor Satya Pal Malik, former MLAs, and Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs). This tradition reflects the dignity and continuity of our democratic institutions,” Sharma said.