BJP playing politics of the flag to add fuel to fire: Cong

Congress today rallied behind the Jammu and Kashmir government in its decision to stop BJP's 'Ekta Yatra' to Srinagar, accusing the opposition party of playing "deliberate politics of the flag" seeking to add "fuel to the fire" in the militancy-hit state.

"There is no dearth of those unfurling the national tricolour in Kashmir, but the BJP is attempting to secessionist forces which are on the backfoot to gain ground by playing deliberate politics of the flag," party spokesman Mohan Prakash said.

Seeking to turn the tables on the BJP, he said that the opposition party should instead unfurl the tricolour at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, telling that party that its "parent organisation" was "forced" to do it by Congress in 2003 by staging demonstrations.

At the AICC briefing, another party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi spoke in a similar vein, accusing the BJP of adding "fuel to the fire" by such actions. "Flag is in our hearts and what the BJP is doing is an act of provocation...with a mischievous and ulterior motive".

The BJP's 'Rashtriya Ekta Yatra' from Kolkata is to culminate in Srinagar on January 26 with hoisting of the tricolour in Lal Chowk. However, the NC-Congress government in the state has said it will not allow any programme which could vitiate peaceful atmosphere in the state.