Ravinder Raina confident of BJP CM in J&K, avers 'people are accepting party'

Jammu and Kashmir BJP president Ravinder Raina on Friday has claimed that there will be an elected Chief Minister from the saffron party soon. Raina has also informed that the Assembly Elections in the Union Territory will be held soon once the delimitation process is over. 

"Let me put it on record, the way people of union territory are accepting BJP, soon there will be BJP government headed by its CM in Jammu and Kashmir,” Ravinder Raina told reporters on the side-lines of Bhavya Pooja at the famous Shankaracharya temple. 

"Once the delimitation process is over, long pending Assembly elections would be held in the newly carved union territory,” he added.

Meanwhile, Raina also lashed out at Pakistan for denying airspace to direct flights from Srinagar to Sharjah. He remarked that Islamabad can never think about the welfare of Kashmiris and that it does not want development in Jammu and Kashmir. Raina has hit out at Pakistan for playing dirty games against Kashmiris. 

“Pakistan has time again proved that it can never think about the welfare of Kashmiris. Pakistan doesn’t want development here. It has always played dirty games against Kashmiris,” he said.

He also asserted that the flights between Srinagar-Sharjah and Srinagar-Saudi Arabia will still operate, but passengers will have to take longer routes. On October 23, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a direct international flight service between Srinagar and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. However, on November 3, the Srinagar-Sharjah direct flight was forced to take a longer route after Pakistan raised objections over the use of its airspace. National conference Vice-president and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state Omar Abdullah was among the politicians who were critical of Pakistan's decision. 

"Very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that Go First Airways being permitted to overfly Pakistan airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations, but alas that wasn’t to be,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, PDP President Mehbooba Mufti criticised the Centre for its move. In a tweet, she said: 

“Puzzling that GOI didn’t even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. Only PR extravaganza without any groundwork.”

Image: PTI