Protests Rock J&K Assembly Over Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat's 'Radicalisation' Remark

Jammu, January 15: Protests rocked Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over the remarks of Army chief as the opposition National Conference created a ruckus and staged the walkout from the House demanding statement from the government over the issue. Rawat had on Friday said social media and government schools in the state were spreading a "disinformation campaign" resulting in the radicalisation of youths.

In his statement, he had also called for "some control" over mosques and madrassas in the state and suggested a "major revamp" of the education system. As the house assembled for the day, members of NC stood up and raised the issue of remarks of Army chief Lt Gen Bipin Rawat and sought a statement from the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti or any other minister.

Notably, the Education Minister of J-K, Altaf Bukhari had then accused the Army of "meddling in the state's affairs". However, contrary to that, the BJP J-K unit spokesperson Brigadier Anil Gupta (retd) in a statement asked "the minister to be pragmatic and accept the reality rather than locking horns" with the Army chief. Gupta said Gen. Rawat's remarks should be viewed positively and not turned into a political issue.

Speaking on the issue in Assembly, NC MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar told the house that army chief statement is sad and unwarranted and that he should not have given such a statement which send a wrong message to Kashmir. Protests rock J-K Assembly over Army chief's remarks CPI(M) MLA M Y Tarigami also criticised the statement and sought a reply from the government.

Amid protests, NC members were up on their feet in opposition as they sought a statement from the CM over the issue. After it was rejected, they staged a walkout from the house. Speaking to reporters, Sagar said there is a problem in the government and that the ruling alliance partners are not discussing the issue within.

"They (PDP and BJP) are not discussing the issue within. Centre says one thing, army other, home ministry another, state government other. They have different directions", he said. He also added that there is no radicalisation is Kashmir, and dismissed the statement as "manufactured propaganda" aimed to target Kashmir and Kashmiris.