No turning back, say Jaitley, Swaraj | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

No turning back, say Jaitley, Swaraj

PTI | By, Madhopur
Jan 25, 2011 05:14 PM IST

Chidambaram today appealed to the BJP leaders to give up the "path of confrontation" and not push any "political agenda" that will affect peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

No turning back, say Jaitley, Swaraj
Madhopur (Punjab), Jan 25 (PTI)

HT Image
HT Image

Slamming J-K government for stopping them from entering Jammu, BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj today rejected Centre's appeal to turn back and vowed to go ahead with the proposed flag hoisting at Srinagar's Lal Chowk tomorrow.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

"We will head towards Jammu and then towards Kashmir Valley for hoisting national flag at Lal Chowk along with hundreds of our activists. Where-ever they stop us, we will sit there on a dharna till January 26," Swaraj told reporters.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said, "We will not leave till 6 PM tomorrow. We will sit on dharna till then. If they want to arrest us, they can do so at any place."

Swaraj along with Jaitley and former Union Minister Ananth Kumar were sent back from Jammu and dropped on the bridge over Ravi river at Punjab's border at Madhopur near here late last night.

Jaitley said Home Minister P Chidambaram had phoned him at Jammu airport yesterday asking him to fly back to Delhi saying they had made their point.

"We are not a banana republic... the way we were detained. They cannot physically throw us like that. I informed the Home Minister regarding this to which he said that he would look into it," Jaitley said.

He described as a "criminal act" the Centre's decision to divert trains bound for Jammu. "What the government did by diverting trains and expelling the leaders amounts to hijack," he said.

Jaitley claimed that the situation in J and K was worse than it was in 1953 when people required a permit to enter the state. "But today you physically pick up people and throw them out of the state," Jaitley said.

Swaraj said that they were determined to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar tomorrow.

"We told the authorities last night in Jammu to either arrest or allow us to proceed further for the party rally there but they put us separately in three vehicles and dropped us at the bridge here eventhough we were told that we were being shifted to a jail in Jammu.

"They are employing such gimmicks.... The leaders of opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are not being told the truth and the way they are physically taken away is something unprecedented and unheard of," she said.

Chidambaram on Tuesday appealed to the BJP leaders to give up the "path of confrontation" and not push any "political agenda" that will affect peace in Jammu and Kashmir.

"I would request the two Leaders of the Opposition (in Parliament) and their colleagues to give up the path of confrontation, return to Delhi and join the celebrations in Delhi on Republic Day," he said in a statement.

The J-K government has sealed the border with Punjab and put barbed wire on the bridge over Ravi river connecting the two states.

Unveiling Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!

Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Mukhtar Ansari Death News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On