Ahead of the Kargil Vijay Divas celebrations, enthusiastic Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) workers Monday painted the entire Lal Chowk in Srinagar in true 'colors of India'.
Senior party leaders led by National General Secretary Tarun Chugh and Bangalore South MP and president, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), Tejasvi Surya flagged off the first ever bikers rally from the busy city centre. Tejasvi later joined the bikers rally which will culminate at the Kargil War Memorial on Tuesday, on the occasion of Vijay Divas.As the bikers made their way the entire city centre witnessed unusual scenes on ground zero.
A large number of party workers from Kashmir valley, holding tricolors in their hands, raised patriotic slogans praising 'Mother India'. It is for the first time a political party organised a public event in the middle of the Lal Chowk after the Abrogation of Article 370 and 35-A.
Previously, the city landmark remained out of bounds and concertina wires were spread across different lanes and by-lanes ahead of hartal calls and other gatherings.
To ensure smooth conduct of the event elaborate security arrangements were made to prevent entry of miscreants in the close vicinity of Lal Chowk. The local shops in the area remained shut while traffic was diverted to avoid any inconvenience to commuters.
Speaking on the occasion Tarun Chugh targeted the Kashmir based political parties- the National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said the twin families of Abdullah’s and Mufti’s ruled Jammu and Kashmir for the past 70 years “but made it a terrorism capital, while the Prime Minister has made it a tourism capital and took it on a path of progress”.
Exhausting his lung power, Tarun Chugh thundered, “Mehbooba lives some yards away from here. She used to say that if you revoke (Article) 370, then you will not find hands to hoist the tricolour. I want to tell her to come to Lal Chowk and see the residents of Kashmir holding the tiranga. Every person has a tiranga in his heart. Targeting Abdullahs and Muftis, Chug said they used to claim that Article 370 cannot be abrogated, but Modi made it possible.
He said Kashmir couldn’t move forward in 70 years, but the “properties of these three families increased by many folds”. “Sometime they demand talks with Pakistan and sometimes with China, but I want to tell them that the youth of India will only talk to the youth of India. The central government and the BJP will meet and listen to the youth of Kashmir,” he said.
Chug said the bikers rally was organised to pay tributes to the fallen soldiers of the Kargil War.
“These youth including the youth from different parts of the valley are going to Kargil where India’s sons sacrificed their life but did not budge even an inch of the country’s land,” he said. J&K BJP Chief Ravinder Raina along with former minister Sunil Sharma also attended the flag off ceremony before welcoming the Tiranga Bikers rally.