JAMMU: BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh on Wednesday termed the district development council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir a fight between the “lovers” of the Tricolour and “Pakistan-China”. He said leaders of the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) were “daydreaming” about restoring the special status of the erstwhile state, asserting that it would never be fulfilled. Chugh, Union minister Anurag Thakur and BJP leader Ashish Sood held a series of meetings at the party headquarters in Jammu over the DDC polls. The BJP general secretary said the alliance partners of the PAGD were changing sides, and “batting and bowling” on the political turf to “loot” the people for the past seven decades. “We have freed the people of J&K from the bondage of loot by the dynastic leaders for 70 years by scrapping Article 370 (provisions),” Chugh, who is the incharge of the Union territory, told reporters in Jammu. The DDC elections is a fight between the “”tiranga” (Tricolour) lovers and Pakistan-China lovers”, Chugh was quoted as saying in a party statement, as he told the BJP leaders to ensure win every single seat. The first phase of the DDC polls begins on November 28, the first political exercise since the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir”s special status under Article 370 on August 5 last year and bifurcated the state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Chugh said Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should clear the party”s stand on Congress joining hands with the PAGD. The Congress and the PAGD have a seat-sharing arrangement in some places. Thakur, meanwhile, emphasised that “our predecessors have stood firm against all anti-nationals for decades and now we have to defeat evil designs of this ”Gupkar Gang” with grit”. J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina said only the “patriots” who hold the Tricolour in high esteem would win the election, adding this was just not an ordinary poll but a fight with the “supporters” of China and Pakistan.
