Nazma Heptullah targets Congress over Kishtwar clashes

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nazma Heptullah on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Congress over the violence in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar District, and alleged that the ruling party at the Centre is unable to control the communal riots and law and order situation in the country.

"I think so they have totally failed. The entire Jammu and Kashmir is a very sensitive area and the government should take care of it. I have noticed this in all these years that I have been in politics in Parliament or otherwise that wherever there is anytime Congress-ruled states there have been communal riots whether it is Muradabad, whether it is Bihar, whether it is in Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai; there have always been communal riots," Heptullah told Asian News International (ANI) here.

"So many BJP-ruled states are there except for what happened in Godhra.....it was a reaction. But I have noticed that the Congress is unable to control the communal riots and law and order situation," she added.

Heptullah also justified the visit of the BJP leaders in riot-hit Kishtwar, saying the saffron outfit is always concerned about the people of the country.

"It is not politics. It is our sympathy with those people; after all we are in politics, and it is our duty to protect the rights of the people and their lives and property. If we don't go there, how can we know what is happening there," said Heptullah.

"Everything the Congress calls is politics. But when their leaders do it, it shows as if they are concerned about the people," she added.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley was detained at the Jammu Airport earlier in the day and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti was also stopped from visiting Kishtwar in view of the escalating violence.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has appealed to people of the state to dismiss rumours and cooperate with the administration in order to bring the current situation under control.

Abdullah, who was speaking in Srinagar, also asked people not to fall play into politics and justice will be done.

"Our main aim was to maintain calm in Kishtwar and surrounding areas. We will do everything that is necessary to maintain peace in Kishtwar. Swift action will follow and people responsible for the death will be brought to book with strict punishment," he added.

Abdullah's remarks came in the wake of the recent clashes in Kishtwar and in various regions of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kishtwar remained curfew-bound for the third consecutive day today after communal violence broke out in the city on Friday.

Curfew was today clamped in three more districts of Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in Jammu region and Army staged flag marches as tension prevailed following outbreak of communal violence in Kishtwar.