BJP lawmaker from J&K Chaudhary Lal Singh while commenting that journalists should draw a line for themselves so as not to meet the fate of slain editor Shujaat Bukhari invited censure both from political parties and journalists’ associations on Sunday. Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted: “After expressing concern about freedom of expression in J&K following Shujaat’s murder, their MLA, notorious and even punished for his role in the aftermath of the unfortunate Kathua case, still threatens journalists belonging to the Valley, so what are they going to do about him?”
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala tweeted: “BJP J&K MLA Lal Singh openly threatens journalists to ‘fall in line & draw a line’. He horrifically says that otherwise they will meet the fate of Shujaat Bukhari by naming his brother. Do BJP leaders have some special knowledge about the assassination?”
Such statements not only betrays Chaudhary’s deep disregard for the role of a free press in a democracy, it also encourages physical attacks on journalists in the sensitive state and elsewhere in the country.
Is it then the BJP chief who is encouraging Chaudhary to poison the sentiments of the people of Jammu towards Kashmiris? That the saffron party will use politics of hatred to keep a hold of its vote bank is not something new. That this is the approach being used in a sensitive state like Jammu and Kashmit puts the idea of democracy, and the whole country, under threat. Chaudhary must be stopped before he does any more damage in the state.
This is not the first time that Singh’s conduct has been less than ideal. He was among the leading voices in support of the Kathua rape accused and demanding a CBI probe into the case. During his tenure as the forests minister, he had promised to “retrieve forest land”, which the Muslim Gujjar Bakarwal tribes had feared was a ploy to evict them.
In 2016, he had threatened the Gujjar community, reminding them of the killings of Muslims in Jammu after Partition.
More recently, his brother was arrested for calling Mehbooba Mufti a dog. The BJP cannot possibly be blind to all this. It is not acting against Singh because it does not want to.
