BJP on Sunday slammed the opposition parties for their criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Kashmir policy, saying they were doing so to serve their political interests at a time when he was trying to take them along for restoration of peace in the Valley.
It is unfortunate that the opposition parties are attacking the Prime Minister instead of praising him for reaching out to them, it said.
"The Prime Minister has been working hard to restore peace in Kashmir and also appreciated the efforts of opposition parties in this regard. It is very unfortunate that parties like Congress have been criticising him due to their political interests and malice.
"His effort is to take everybody along in matters of national unity and integrity, besides development," BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.
He cited the government's outreach for the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST to buttress his argument.
It is imperative, he said, all parties speak in one voice to expose Pakistan which has been waging a proxy war against India.
"All parties should speak in one voice so that we can expose Pakistan's conspiracy," he said.
Taking a dig at Congress, he alleged that it was due to the policies of the first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru that the Kashmir issue persisted when Sardar Patel managed to successfully integrate hundreds of other states into India.
He blamed decades of Congress and National Conference rule in Jammu and Kashmir for the problems in the valley.
Modi said in the Mann ki Baat programme that "Ekta" (unity) and "Mamata" (love) are the basic mantras for addressing the Kashmir problem even as he slammed those pushing children to create unrest, saying they will have to give answers to those "innocent" kids some day.
He emphasised that if any life is lost in Kashmir, whether that of any youth or any security man, "that loss is ours, of our own country".
