Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Jammu, Ruling out post-poll alliance with any regional party in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP today said it has not deviated from its ideology on the issue of revocation of Article 370 from the state.
“Our views are the same which always were there and you know what our views are,” Union Minister Arun Jaitley said while replying to a query about BJP not raising the issue of revocation of Article 370 in the ongoing Assembly elections.
On the possibility of a post-poll alliance to form the next government in J&K, he said, “We will not join hands with any regional party to form the government. BJP is trying to form the government of its own, if someone from the nationalistic forces want to come and sit with us we will let them join.”
“We have no political relationship with these two regional parties (NC, PDP) as we have different ideologies,” the senior BJP leader said.
Talking to reporters on sidelines of a party function here, Jaitley said that issues taken up by the party during campaigns were in context of the elections.
“Every election has its own context and the issues that we have raised are in context with the Assembly elections here,” he said.
Without naming Article 370, which prohibits non-state subjects from buying immovable property in J&K, Jaitley said,
“People are not ready to invest where they have so many complications and difficulties. Top universities want to come in Jammu and Kashmir, but would you be able to provide land for such universities?”
He said that if BJP forms the next government here it would form three regional councils so that there is equal distribution of funds and resources within the three regions of the state.
“It would be the foremost point in our agenda if we form the government we will establish three regional councils for the equal distribution of resources and funds within all the three regions of the state,” Jaitley said.
The senior BJP leader said religion would not play any role while selecting the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the state. “Religion of the candidate is not important, his vision and his personality is,” he said.
Terming the J&K polls as a one-sided contest, Jaitley claimed that the Congress has hit “rock-bottom” whereas both the regional parties have failed to deliver.
While commenting on the Center-State relationship in view of the special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Finance Minister said, “I raise a question as some people are separatists, some want self-rule and some autonomy or pre-1953 position. The concern is the relationship between Center and State and who enjoys what power.”
“Here, the State has all the power and Center powers are restricted…Lack of development, lack of good governance, corruption are not related to the fact that state and Centre powers are separate?” he said.
He said that the two regional parties were contesting the elections against each other and Congress was ready to join hands with whichever party forms the government.
“In the past, the contest was always between two regional parties and Congress which has no ideology in the state joined hands with whosoever from the two regional parties formed the government here,” he said.
On the question of extending a tax-free holiday to the industry in J&K as was offered during the previous Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, Jaitley said that the government would think over it when the situation improves.
“We want to develop the industry in the state, but extending a package would depend on the economic resources of the country. From previous government we inherited an economic growth of less than 5 percent, the revenue is limited, if the situation improves we will see into it,” he said.
PTI
