Article 370, which was revoked by the Centre last year, “could never be restored in Jammu and Kashmir”, BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said on Friday. He also denied claims that the results of the upcoming polls to the District Development Councils (DDC) would will be a referendum on the Centre’s August 5 decision to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its special status.“We believe that when someone dies, he cannot return from the grave. Article 370 has also been buried and it will never return. It can never be restored and no world power can help in its restoration,” Hussain said at a press conference here.When asked if the BJP loses the DDC polls, would it mean that the people of Kashmir have not accepted the abrogation of Article 370, he said: “This is not a referendum. This is a local body election, about local issues. This is not about national politics.”Hussain said that parties under the banner of “Gupkar alliance”, mainly NC president Farooq Abdullah and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, were “misleading” people by making promises of its restoration. “They are showing the people dreams and misleading them. There is no big a lie than that. These are the same leaders who were claiming Article 370 cannot be scrapped and even stated that nobody in J&K will raise the Tricolour if it is scrapped. However, the people are now raising the Tricolour without any objection,” he said.He said Mufti and Abdullah have worked with the Centre at different times, “one saluting the national flag and the other chanting Bharat mata ki jai, in Parliament.”Responding to a question about petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the changes made on August 5, 2019, Hussain said, “Koi sub-judice nahin hai. No power in the world can restore Article 370.”The BJP national spokesperson, who has been designated election in-charge for J&K, said the people of J&K do not need to fear for their land, “it is all propaganda”. He said the rights of the Gujjar and Bakarwal community will also be protected.Referring to the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration as the “Gupkar Gang” – three days after Home Minister Amit Shah used the epithet to describe the alliance – the BJP leader said, “They would be popular if people other than their families had benefited from them. They are not in a position to move freely in Kashmir because the people have questions.”Referring to the DDC polls, he said the Lotus – the BJP’s election symbol – will bloom in the valley like the rest of the country. “The political parties in Kashmir did not give the common Kashmiri a chance to grow but that is what the BJP will provide,” he said.Seeking people’s support for the polls, Hussain said, “We are concerned about the people of J&K, and will ensure development, which is the right of people, will be given to them. J&K will see a new dawn of development for which work has already started. Give the BJP a chance and God willing, we will live up to your expectations.”
