In one country, two Constitutions, two flags and two Prime Ministers is untenable.

BJP for sacking of J&K Minister
Source:www.newindpress.com
Author:ANITA SALUJA

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday demanded the sacking of Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Tariq Hameed Karra for demanding separate currency in the State, made under the garb of the autonomy demand.

Such a demand was separatist in nature and deserved outright condemnation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress party, which is at the helm of affairs both in the State and at the Centre, must come out categorically against such a fundamentalist and divisive remark, especially in the sensitive border State of Jammu & Kashmir, the party demanded.

The earlier incarnation of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder-president Shyama Prasad Mookerjee died a martyr in the early 1950s, fighting against the requirement of a permit to enter Jammu & Kashmir. At that time, Atal Behari Vajpayee was the key political aide of Shyama Prasad Mookherjee. It was at that time that the party had coined the slogan, “Ek desh mein do vidhan, do nishan aur do pradhan, nahi chalega, nahin chalega – In one country, two Constitutions, two flags and two Prime Ministers is untenable.” The BJP feels that 50 years down the line, the slogan remains equally valid, as it was then.

BJP spokesman Rajiv Prasad Rudy said, “The deafening silence maintained by the top-brass of the Congress party in general and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in particular on an issue, which has ramification on the country’s sovereignty, is appalling.

Their indifference amply confirms their misplaced priorities on issues of national concern. It is shocking that with an eye on the impending Assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir and the greed to hold on to power even at the cost of the country’s sovereignty, the Congress has chosen to ignore the bizarre and divisive demand.” The failure to sack the Minister so far amply proves this point, Rudy said.

The BJP leader said Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad cannot be absolved, on the principle of collective responsibility of the Cabinet, as he heads a Coalition Government in Jammu & Kashmir.

While the trend globally was moving towards a common currency, as borne out by the Euro in the European Union, it was sharply contrasted by a State demanding a separate currency in India. The demand is the total negation of the Constitution and such a preposterous proposal has never been mooted in the past, he said.

The BJP leader disagreed that the rejection of the proposal by the Congress party spokesman was really consequential. On important national issues, strong signals should come out at the highest levels – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

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