By Jehangir Ali
Srinagar: The activists of Hindu rightwing outfits on Monday (February 16) staged a demonstration calling for “shooting the traitors” after a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader alleged that a majority of land encroachers in Jammu belonged to Kashmir.
Dozens of rightwing activists carrying saffron flags burnt the effigy of J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah in Jammu while reiterating the demand of the BJP’s Bahu legislator Vikram Randhawa that the government should set up a task force to probe the land encroachment.
Last week, Randhawa informed the assembly that 16,212 kanals of land owned by the Jammu Development Authority (JDA) was encroached upon in Jammu. “90% of this land has been encroached upon by Kashmiris,” he said, prompting an uproar in the House.
Shouting slogans such as ‘vacate the JDA land’ and ‘vacate the government land,’ the activists led by Rashtriya Bajrang Dal (RBD) state president Rakesh Bajrangi condemned the ruling National Conference-led (NC-led) government for allegedly failing to address the issue.
“Desh kay gaddaru ko, goli maro salu ko [shoot the traitors]. NC government hai hai [down with NC government], UT [Union Territory] sarkar hai hai [down with the Union Territory government],” the protesters chanted.
The chants of ‘shoot the traitors’ by the BJP leaders allegedly led to widespread violence during the 2020 Delhi riots in which at least 52 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in three days of riots in the national capital.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Bajrangi who was one of the known faces of the agitation that culminated in the de-recognition of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi (SMVD) medical college in Jammu last month accused the J&K government of inaction on the issue of alleged land encroachment.
“Whether it is the JDA land, state land or some other land, there has been massive encroachment in Jammu since 2008. A task force should be set up and action should be taken against the offenders. The government should learn to do its job otherwise we will take action on our own,” he warned.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.