Kashmir must be saved, shift focus from elections: Shiv Sena to Amit Shah

Asked BJP to ensure that sacrifices of Indian soldiers don't go in vain

Barely a day after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and BJP President Amit Shah met in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena on Monday launched a fresh attack on its ally — this time for the grim situation in Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal.

"Amit Shah says if mid-term polls are held in Maharashtra, they will win hands down. They can also win the presidential election. But who will win the war in Jammu and Kashmir?" the Sena asked pointedly in an edit in the party mouthpieces 'Saamana' and 'Dopahar Ka Saamana'.

Expressing its concern over the renewed spate of terror in the Kashmir Valley and the violence in West Bengal's Darjeeling, the Sena said these heavenly places on earth are currently passing through a bad spell, but "some people" are more eager about winning mid-term elections in Maharashtra.

"We wish them all the best. However, we are not perturbed about winning or losing mid-term elections in Maharashtra. Our greatest worry is whether Jammu and Kashmir will remain on the map of India in the long run," the edit said.

"The BJP is standing solidly with 'anti-national elements', it is backing (Chief Minister) Mehbooba Mufti, who in turn, keeps making reckless statements, but not a single 'Parivar' member has shown guts to challenge her," noted the edit.

The Sena pointed out that whenever there are encounters and terrorists are killed by our security forces in Kashmir, brutal retaliatory attacks on the camps and bases of Indian armed forces follow, killing many of our soldiers.

The separatists in West Bengal are heavily armed and get support from various quarters, though Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying her best by inviting them for talks, the Sena said.

About Jammu and Kashmir, the Sena said it appears that organisations like IS, Lashkar e Taiba, Al-Qaeda and ISI (of Pakistan) have already wrested control over the critical border state.

"These (BJP/Parivar) people should focus their attention there and think of how you will win the war in J&K, and ensure that the sacrifices of our soldiers don't go in vain. The situation there has gone out of hand. Kashmir must be saved," the edit said.

The Sena's attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came barely 24 hours after Shah and Thackeray met in Mumbai for 75 minutes amid optimism of a thaw in the chilled relations between the two allies of nearly three decades.