BJP's youth wing, Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM) on Sunday demanded that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) should not be diluted from Jammu and Kashmir and Article 370 that gives special status to the state be abrogated.
BJYM national president and BJP MP Anurag Thakur, who was leading the Kolkata-to-Kashmir Rashtriya Ekta Yatra to unfurl the national flag at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on January 26 after a gap of 18 years, said the Article 370 was a responsible for lack of development in Jammu and Kashmir.
"The gap between the state and rest of the country cannot be bridged without abrogating the Article," Thakur told reporters in Varanasi.
Thakur, also the son of Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, accused the Centre of failing to contain violence during the five months of unrest in the Valley and demanded that the Centre should not dilute AFSPA as it would demoralise the security forces.
Thakur also said that "Kashmiri Pandits should be rehabilitated with dignity in the Valley".
The yatra began on January 12.
{{/usCountry}}The yatra began on January 12.
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