NC’s Ajay Kumar Sadhotra Accuses BJP of Betraying Jammu

SRINAGAR: National Conference (NC) Additional General Secretary and former minister Ajay Kumar Sadhotra on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of indulging in “cheap and negative politics” to divert attention from what he described as its “monumental failures.”

In a strongly worded statement, Sadhotra said the people of Jammu, who had given the BJP an unprecedented mandate, today feel “betrayed, disillusioned, and angry” over the party’s failure to represent their aspirations. He alleged that even amid devastation caused by flash floods, cloudbursts, landslides, and incessant rains, the BJP was more concerned with “stage-managing optics” than securing substantive relief.

Citing Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent visit, Sadhotra said the BJP leadership “could not muster the courage” to demand a special financial package for Jammu, calling the silence a “damning indictment of its priorities.”

The NC leader further accused the BJP of attempting to cover up its failures by launching attacks against the National Conference. He claimed that the outreach programme of NC Vice President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had “rekindled hope among the people” and left the BJP “unnerved and irrelevant on the ground.”

Sadhotra said that instead of standing with the people in their hour of crisis, the BJP had “chosen divisive theatrics,” betraying the very mandate it claimed to represent. He warned that “public anger is simmering” among youth, farmers, traders, and flood-affected families, who feel cheated by the party’s inaction.

Reiterating NC’s commitment to stand by the suffering masses, he said the party’s history is intertwined with the “struggles and sacrifices” of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He asserted that unlike the BJP, which “thrives on rhetoric,” the NC had a record of “service, sacrifice, and delivery.”

Sadhotra concluded by warning the BJP that the “era of taking Jammu for granted is over,” adding that the people will hold it accountable for “betrayal of trust.”