Srinagar: The BJP on Thursday rejected chief minister Mehbooba Mufti’s call for a unilateral ceasefire during Ramazan and the Amarnath Yatra and virtually accused her of lying when she claimed the proposal had achieved a consensus at Wednesday’s all-party meeting.
Mehbooba, who had chaired the meeting, had later said: “All those present said that all of us should appeal to the Government of India to consider (a ceasefire) on the occasion of Ramazan, the Amarnath Yatra and Id the way (then Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayeeji had announced a unilateral ceasefire in 2000.”
Deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta, who is from the BJP, was at Mehbooba’s side at the news briefing but did not speak when she made these remarks.
On Thursday, however, the state BJP fielded its chief spokesperson, Sunil Sethi, to deny the party had backed the proposal.
Sethi said the issue had received a passing mention at Wednesday’s meeting and was neither discussed nor put to a vote.
“There is serious concern from our side. We are not party to it (the proposal for a unilateral ceasefire)…. There was no consensus on it and it was not put to consensus (vote),” Sethi told reporters in Jammu.
Sethi referred to the state government’s official statement, which too quoted Mehbooba as saying that all the parties had backed the proposal.
He said the statement was misleading and should have clarified the points on which the parties had reached consensus and those they had not.
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