J-K villagers living along border have become fodder for Pak cannons: NC leader

A senior National Conference (NC) leader today expressed grave concern over the increased shelling from across the border, saying the people along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir had virtually become fodder for Pakistani cannons.

"The BJP has made border dwellers fodder for Pakistani cannons. The BJP-led government at the Centre cannot shrug off its responsibility for the volatile situation on borders, as it has completely failed in instilling a sense of security among the border dwellers due to policy paralysis," NC provincial president and MLA Devender Singh Ranatold reporters at the sidelines of a function here.

He said instead of insulating the residents of forward areas from recurring border skirmishes, the central government is sending confusing signals to compatriots.

"For the past four years, the Centre has neither been able to settle the issues with Pakistan through dialogue to hold the ceasefire agreement reached during the tenure of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003 nor is there any roadmap to counter the incessant shelling," Rana said.

"In the process, the people of Jammu and Kashmir especially those on the borders, are living in perpetual fear," he said.

Rana asked the BJP as to where had its bravado of 2014 vanish.

"Due to jingoistic posturing, the situation has been allowed to drift without any concrete response to the hostilities, as a result of which the people of the forward areas are made to run helter-skelter for their lives," he said.

Stating that the scenario across the LoC and IB is quite volatile, Rana said, "Today, the tremors of shelling and gun roars were even heard in the Jammu city and its peripheries, which reflects the enormity of the border situation."