BJP flips on Accession Day holiday demand

BJP flips on Accession Day holiday demand

NL Correspondent

Jammu, October 23

In a shocker today, the Bhartiya Janata Party flipped on its own demand of declaring Accession Day, October 26 as a state holiday. This development came to fore when Ashok Koul, State BJP General Secretary (Org) in a meeting held today to discuss Accession Day arrangement at BJP's Jammu Head Office denied any claims related to the demand of declaration of a state holiday on Accession Day.

The revelation by the Ashok Koul is being viewed as BJP's failure to convince the coalition partner People's Democratic Party (PDP) on the issue and yet again BJP piggy backing on PDP amongst other issues in the history.

“We had never raised the demand to declare a holiday on accession day,” said Ashok Koul, state BJP general secretary (Org). Apparently, the BJP has distanced itself from the whole issue of calling a state holiday on October 26, Accession Day for the reasons best understood by the party and public.

Koul said, that Accession Day is a relevant part of history and BJP would celebrate it in a grand manner.

Clarifying he added that the party was against numerous holidays as it would affect functioning of the government.

Since past many years on record, the BJP had been demanding declaration of a state holiday on October 26. BJP leaders had, on record, raised this demand earlier, but the party had taken a U-turn now. Till recently, all BJP leaders had been demanding in a chorus that October 26 should be declared as a gazetted holiday across the state.

The proposal had been made by the BJP when it became a part of the government last year. Separatist groups in the state had been observing October 26 as a black day.

On October 26, 1947, the then ruler of the state, Maharaja Hari Singh, signed the Instrument of Accession to make Kashmir a part of India. Accused of diluting its core agenda for the sake of running a government in alliance with the PDP, the BJP had raked up the issue last year after becoming a partner in the government.

Meanwhile, to ensure that programmes to celebrate accession day were a success, state BJP general secretary Pawan Khajuria chaired a meeting to finalise arrangements and allot work to party leaders.

Speaking at the meeting, he said besides organising a seminar at the Trikuta Nagar office, BJP activists would illuminate all rotaries and hoist the Tricolour to mark the day.

Every mandal and district team had been directed to hold colourful programmes to highlight the historic and legal facts related to accession of the state with the Indian Union.