Jammu, Jul 21, KDC: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of indulging in “political theatrics” in New Delhi while the Union Territory was grappling with the aftermath of devastating flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides, and demanded ₹20 lakh ex gratia for the families of those killed in the disasters.
Addressing a press conference in Jammu, Leader of Opposition in the J&K Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma, flanked by senior BJP leaders, alleged that the National Conference (NC) had chosen “politics over humanity” by holding a protest in the national capital instead of focusing on relief and rescue operations in the flood-hit districts.
“The Chief Minister should have been standing with the grieving families and supervising the ongoing rescue operations instead of staging a political protest in New Delhi. Even today, several bodies remain buried under debris in the flood-ravaged areas of Poonch and Rajouri, but the ruling party appears more interested in political optics than addressing the humanitarian crisis,” Sharma said.
The BJP demanded ₹20 lakh compensation for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in cloudbursts and flash floods. The party also sought six months’ free ration for affected families, immediate rehabilitation of displaced households, restoration of damaged religious institutions and temporary accommodation for families in Rajouri’s slum areas who lost their homes and belongings in the floods.
The party further demanded similar compensation and relief for the families of those killed in shooting stone incidents at Ragi Nullah in Doda district and for people whose properties were damaged in the Kyar-Dachhan belt of Kishtwar district.
Sharma said a BJP team led by former J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina had rushed to the Loran area of Poonch following reports of another cloudburst to assess the situation and meet the affected families.
Criticising the Chief Minister, Sharma alleged that Omar Abdullah was “busy posing for photographs with his sons and sharing images of travelling in an e-auto” while people in Jammu and Kashmir were struggling in the aftermath of the natural calamity.
“It is unfortunate that at a time when families are searching for their missing loved ones and rescue teams are risking their lives to retrieve bodies from the debris, the Chief Minister is engaged in what has become a Delhi picnic and photo session,” he alleged.
Claiming to have visited the flood-hit areas in Poonch and Rajouri, Sharma said the scale of destruction was enormous and many affected families were still waiting for immediate assistance. He urged the government to focus entirely on rescue, relief and rehabilitation instead of pursuing political programmes outside Jammu and Kashmir.
The BJP leader further alleged that the National Conference had demonstrated that “politics comes first while human suffering takes a back seat,” and called upon the Chief Minister to return to Jammu and Kashmir and personally oversee relief efforts.
The BJP also said its leaders and workers in the affected districts were compiling a comprehensive assessment of losses to residential and commercial properties, crops, livestock and agricultural land. The report, it said, would be submitted to the party’s central leadership for taking up the matter with both the Union Territory administration and the Central Government.
Lashing out at the Omar Abdullah-led government, Sharma said the recent rain-related disaster had exposed what he described as the administration’s “moral and operational bankruptcy.”
“When devastating flash floods and cloudbursts struck Rajouri and Poonch, resulting in tragic loss of life and widespread destruction, the choice before the NC leadership was simple: humanity or politics. Omar chose politics over humanity,” Sharma said. (KDC)
