Flag down the 'Ekta Yatra'

BJP’s move can polarise society

There is no denying that every Indian has the right to hoist the Tricolour anywhere in the country. But when the BJP plans an ‘Ekta yatra’ which is to culminate in a flag-hoisting ceremony at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, the motives of the move become highly suspect. Given the uneasy calm in the Valley, this can come to be seen as a provocative act. The least it will do is to aggravate tensions and thwart the dialogue process. The Valley, which has battled with a long summer in which stone-pelting youth kept the security forces on edge, can again be sucked into another orgy of violence. Surely, that is something which the BJP must guard against. What needs to be underlined is that when the BJP was in power for five years at the Centre, it never had convulsions of patriotism which would have galvanised it into marching onto Lal Chowk.

Doing so at this stage can only be seen as a mischievous gameplan. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has adopted a cautious approach and invited BJP leaders to join Jammu and Kashmir’s official Republic Day celebrations at Srinagar’s Bakshi Stadium “to give the flag hoisting the respect it deserves”. The Centre and the state will have to keep their firmer options in readiness to tackle the situation before it gets ugly.

The Tribune, January 21