Jammu: The BJP in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Union Minister Farooq Abdullah for his remarks about the Army while pitching for the removal of AFSPA in the state.
"BJP questions the propriety of Abdullah as a Union Minister for passing derogatory remarks about Army. We have also asked the UPA government, including the Defence and Home Ministers, to clarify whether what he said in a detailed interview on a national channel is the official position of the government," party spokesperson Jagat Prakash Nadda told a press conference in Jammu.
"Being a Minister in the Centre, Abdullah should not issue such irresponsible statements on sensitive matters. He should step down before commenting anything against the Army to support his son and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah," Nadda said.
The Army is in Jammu and Kashmir at the request of civilian administration and it is because of the armed force that peace was restored, he pointed.
Nadda said any decision about Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) is not a "sole" prerogative of the Chief Minister and his (Omar) suggestion for selective revocation of the Act from some districts is not feasible from the security point of view.
The withdrawal or continuance of AFSPA should be left to the Unified Command, the BJP spokesperson said.
Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, while making a strong pitch for removal of the controversial AFSPA from parts of Jammu and Kashmir, had recently said in a TV interview that Army was not the "master" of the people of the state and that it should concentrate on choking infiltration of terrorists.
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