J&K Congress claims over dozen BJP workers joins them

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of Congress Wednesday claimed that over a dozen BJP workers including a senior leader had joined the party in Kishtwar district.

Congress state vice president and legislator G M Saroori said those who believed in the unique characteristics of the state must get united to fight the "divisive forces", referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"BJP suffered a big blow as over a dozen of its workers including senior leader Jia Lal from Palmar joined the Congress in the presence of state vice president and MLA G M Saroori," a party release said.

Welcoming the new entrants, Saroori said their joining will further strengthen the party in the Kishtwar constituency.

Saroori asserted that the Congress stood for the preservation of time-tested secular ethos and regional unity of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh while the BJP indulged in polarisation.

"Times have proven that flaring up regional and religious passions cannot take a homogeneous state like Jammu and Kashmir anywhere," he said.

"Polarisation in politics may earn certain short-term gains to politicians with myopic interests but in the long run such tendencies do not the only boomerang but also prove detrimental to the larger interests of the people and the state," he added.