BJP’s ‘use and discard’ policy responsible for plight of Kashmiri Pandit employees: Kharge

PTI, Jan 10, 2023, 4:30 PM IST

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday attacked the BJP over protests by Kashmiri Pandit employees, alleging that the saffron party’s ”use, discard and betray” policy is responsible for their plight.

”Kashmiri Pandit employees are protesting for over 245+ days, demanding their ‘right to life’ & ‘relocation’. Their salaries are being withheld for months and their security is being compromised,” Kharge said in a tweet.

”BJP’s ‘use, discard & betray’ policy is responsible for their plight,” he said.

Rahul Bhat, a Kashmiri Pandit employee, was shot dead by terrorists inside his office at Chadoora in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir in May last year. The killing had sparked off protests by Kashmiri Pandit employees who refused to return to work.

A group of protesting employees had also left the Valley and demonstrated in Jammu, demanding that they be relocated outside the Valley till the security situation improved there.

Though the J&K administration agreed to look into most of the demands of the Kashmiri Pandits, it reportedly ”refused” to relocate them out of Kashmir. It further hardened its stand against the protesting employees and ”stopped” salaries of those who did not return to work.

However, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Pandurang Kundbarao Pole, had said last week that a majority of Kashmiri Pandit employees have returned to work.