PM Modi's speech in Jammu leaves BJP workers feeling disappointed and confused

At a private function in Jammu University to commemorate the centenary celebration of the late Congress stalwart, Giridhari Lal Dogra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech disappointed many in the gathering who were expecting an announcement of the much-talked about “massive development package” of Rs 70,000 crore for the state. “Unfortunately, in politics, that too after death, few political leaders stay alive. Most are forgotten, but some become legends in what they do. They become immortal. Girdhari Lal ji is among them,” Prime Minister Modi said about Dogra at Zorawar Singh auditorium of the Jammu University. The auditorium at the Jammu University was sealed on all sides and the entire university campus was turned into a fortress. The function, organised by the Giridhari Lal Dogra Trust, was seen as an appropriation of the former minister of Jammu and Kashmir who played an influential role in sowing the seeds of the Congress in Jammu region. Prof Bhim Singh, of the Nationalist Panthers Party, said an interesting political combination and permutation is emerging in the state which shall be catastrophic to the interest of the people of Jammu. [caption id=“attachment_2348480” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] PM Narendra Modi gestures during his speech in Jammu. PIB[/caption] “Modi has planned a calculated game to buy over the frustrated Congress lot into the BJP fold. Late Girdhari Lal Dogra was a veteran Congress leader who represented Jammu in J&K government for nearly 25 years as Finance Minister. He emerged as a leader of National Conference led by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah from the Dogra soil which was fighting against Maharaja Hari Singh in the forties but died a frustrated Congressman,” said Bhim Singh. “I’m very sure that Girdhari Lalji’s judgement of character was very sharp; it shows in his choice of son-in-law,” Modi said, referring to union finance minister Arun Jaitley, who is married to Dogra’s daughter, “There is no similarity in the political line of thought of Dograsahab and Arun Jaitleyji and neither is known due to the other.” But in the auditorium where the PM was speaking, many prominent faces of BJP state leadership were missing, owing to the limited number of invitations sent to party leaders by Giridhari Lal Dogra Trust, an act which disappointed many. The BJP’s state leadership in Jammu had raised expectations recently following a hint by Nirmal Singh, the deputy chief minister, in June that an announcement would be made by the PM on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Jammu. There were also hopes of an announcement about the special financial package, which could have boosted the developmental works in the troubled state. A senior BJP leader, wishing anonymity, said they were expecting the Prime Minister to announce AIIMS for Jammu and Rs 70,000 crore package, which would have boosted the BJP’s prospects in the state. Instead, the announcements didn’t figure in Modi’s speech. “The issue of AIIMS for Kashmir only has caused resentment in Jammu and we were hoping that the PM will make some announcement to placate the seething tempers,” the BJP leader said. “We were waiting for the announcement; it would have been a symbolic first for any Prime Minister to announce this kind of package to the state from Jammu, but I think the PM wants to announce this package in Kashmir,” the leader, who spoke to FirstPost on phone, minutes after the PM finished his speech, said. Top government sources said the Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, who also attended the function and spoke about the need to build the bridges between the three regions of the state, had insisted the Prime Minister to announce the package during his visit to Srinagar by the end of this month. The special package of Rs 70,000 crore which was reported by the media that the Prime minister was announcing today, is the biggest ever for Jammu and Kashmir, which is presently ruled by the ideological opposites, the People’s Democratic party and the BJP, for the first time. “The invitation has come from the trust. There were only few party members. It was not a BJP function. I think since it was not a government function and a private one, this is why the PM did not make the announcement (of special package),” Srinagar-based BJP spokesperson, Khalid Jahangir said. The Prime Minister’s visit to Jammu came close on the heels of a spike in violence at the Line of Control and the International Border where hundred of people have been forced to flee from their homes following the exchange of heavy artillery between the armies of India and Pakistan.