Kashmir Impulse Desk

Jammu, July 27

Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma on Monday accused the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling National Conference (NC) of trying to revive separatist politics in the region and called for the PDP to be banned.

Sharma alleged that the two parties were drawing an unjustified parallel between a recent student protest in New Delhi over the NEET examination controversy and the decades-long conflict in Kashmir.

“The way PDP has sought the release of 2500 persons picked up after the killing of a police cop in Anantnag, like it has been agreed in the case of the students’ agitation in Delhi, is unacceptable,” Sharma told reporters.

He accused the PDP of equating people involved in militancy and stone-pelting with students protesting against alleged examination irregularities.

Sharma said the PDP, which he alleged had been founded on a separatist ideology, should be banned in the same way as Jamaat-e-Islami and various Hurriyat groups.

The BJP leader also criticised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for raising similar demands for the release of people detained after the killing of a police head constable in Anantnag.

Sharma said those detained had been picked up for investigation and had not been formally arrested.

“There is a difference between arrests and investigation,” he said, urging citizens to cooperate with security agencies investigating the killing.

He accused the NC and PDP of supporting people suspected of involvement in militancy and of echoing what he described as Pakistan’s narrative.

Sharma also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his intervention in the controversy surrounding the student protests in Delhi.

He said the agitation had ended after the central government agreed to the students’ demands, including compensation, withdrawal of FIRs and the resignation of the Union education minister.

“What is Rahul Gandhi looking for? He is looking for a political ground to revive Congress, which is facing defeats at different fronts,” Sharma said.

Separately, BJP leaders Zorawar Singh and Purnima Sharma demanded the resignation of Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Sakina Itoo over allegations that books described by the party as anti-India and pro-terrorist had been included in the school curriculum.

The BJP leaders said the education minister should be held accountable and accused the government of failing to properly oversee the curriculum. They also alleged that lower-ranking officials were being made scapegoats to shield senior officials.