Srinagar, November 5: In one of the rare invocations made by the saffron group, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) referred to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in its advice for the newly elected Jammu & Kashmir Block Development Council (BDC) chairpersons. The party organised an event at Srinagar’s Tagore Hall on Tuesday, where the elected representatives were asked to follow the "Khidmat-e-Khalq" principle of the Holy Prophet.

Khidmat-e-Khalq, which roughly translates as "service of people", was one of the foundational blocks of the Prophet's life and the Madina welfare state which he had established. J&K BJP president Ravinder Raina, while addressing the gathering of the BDC chairpersons, said God has given them the opportunity to serve the people. Map of India Depicting New UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Released by Government.

The duty must be discharged by them by following the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad and adhering to his principle of Khidmat-e-Khalq, Raina was reported as saying by The Print. He was also accompanied by BJP general secretary Ashok Kaul, former MLC Surinder Ambardar and former transport minister Sunil Sharma.

Kaul, while speaking to the BDC chairpersons, said those from the BJP should quit the party immediately if they have not entered into public life with the sole mission of serving the people. There is no space for those with personal ambitions in the party, added Kaul, who is also a staunch RSS ideologue.

In the J&K Block Development polls held last month, the BJP ended up winning only 18 out of the 131 seats. The party's victories were only based in Jammu region. After the elections, however, over 50 elected chairpersons -- including those from the Valley -- have decided to join the BJP.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 05, 2019 10:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).