Madhav's remarks attempt to hide failure of Centre to normalise situation in J-K: NC

The National Conference Saturday reacted sharply to BJP general secretary Ram Madhav's statement that regional parties were trying to derail civic polls in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it was an attempt to conceal the failure of the Centre to normalise the situation in the state.

"BJP is itself in liaison with former extremists and thus sans the moral authority to make uncouth and false allegations against the NC. Most candidates that BJP has given tickets to in upcoming ULB (urban local bodies) elections come from fringe and have shady backgrounds. And they have the audacity to question our integrity," NC chief spokesperson Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi said in a statement.

Madhav had on Friday alleged that activists of the NC and the PDP were trying to derail civic polls in Jammu and Kashmir like the terrorists and were threatening independent candidates. He alleged that the two "dynasty-run parties" were against grassroots democracy in the state.

The NC and the Peoples Democratic Party have announced boycott of the ULB and panchayat polls.

Mehdi said such statements by the BJP leadership show how "ignorant and confused they are about the prevailing ground situation in the state".

"The NC has not made any surrender before anybody and that it has lost scores of its functionaries since the onset of militancy. History bears witness to the fact that the NC has never been an aggressor. It has suffered and suffered fatally during the last three decades," he said.

The NC chief spokesperson maintained that the party will abide by its decision of not participating in the upcoming elections.

"The BJP will be given a befitting answer by the people and the sparse polling will definitely ensure that the NC was definitely not in the fray," he said.

Taking a dig at Madhav, Mehdi said the NC does not believe in violence and has continued its struggle through peaceful means.

"The mass lynching throughout the country reveal who supports the violence, it is the RSSBJP combine that uses coercion and violence to grind its own axe not us," he said.

Urban local bodies elections will be held in four phases from October 8 in the state, while panchayat polls in nine-phases beginning November 17.