Jammu, Congress leader Bharatsinh Solanki has openly criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for deteriorating the democratic environment in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and engaging in divisive politics.

According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking at a workers’ rally in Doda town, Jammu, Solanki accused the BJP of engaging in the politics of vendetta, hatred, and communal division for the sake of vote bank politics. He asserted that only Congress, in alliance with other secular parties, could restore the damaged social, political, and democratic atmosphere in India, and bring back peace, harmony, and progress. Solanki emphasized the need for Congress workers to inform the public about the BJP’s diversionary tactics in using religion to cover up its failures in controlling rising prices and addressing the record-high unemployment, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.

Vikar Rasool Wani, the President of the Indian National Congress’s occupied Jammu and Kashmir chapter, also spoke at the event. He criticized the BJP for stripping the people of Jammu and Kashmir of their rights and status, and highlighted the lack of an elected government for over five years. Wani pointed out the bureaucrats’ inaccessibility to the common people, depriving them of the right to voice their concerns in any elected forum. He mentioned the plight of various groups, including the elderly, physically challenged, and unemployed, who are compelled to protest to have their basic needs and rights addressed.