Samajwadi Party praises armed forces for relief work in J-K

Lauding the relief work carried out by the personnel of Indian Army and Indian Air Force in flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Sunday said that they have made a place in the hearts of the people of the valley.

"The army and the air force have done an exemplary job in Jammu and Kashmir and they have been able to show the humanistic side of the armed forces of India. They have made a place in the hearts of the people," Samajwadi Party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told ANI here.

"And I think it will be difficult for any separatist now to take out any respect that the people have for the Indian Army," he added.

Commenting on the absence of the Kashmiri separatists at this time of crisis, Bhatia said the message is loud and clear: that they do not even have the basic feeling that a human being would have.

"At other times, the separatists are everywhere, shouting slogans and trying to separate the region of Kashmir when there is peace in the valley. But now when there is mass destruction, when people actually need help from everyone, they are nowhere to be seen," he said.

Meanwhile, Bhatia also criticized Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy's statement that President's rule should be imposed in Jammu and Kashmir for a year, saying it was ill-timed.

"The statement of Subramanian Swamy is clearly ill-timed. And at this time, the priority should be that normalcy should return to the valley as soon as possible. All help should be extended to people there and all talks about elections or President's rule can wait till everyone has been rehabilitated in the region." he said.

Over 1, 42,000 people have been rescued so far by the armed forces in the flood-hit areas of Jammu and Kashmir.