BJP appeals Geelani's family to join political mainstream

BJP today appealed to the family members of Jammu and Kashmir's moderate separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to join the political mainstream and urged them to celebrate the democracy.
"Some people issued poll boycott call but that was rejected by the people of the state. When Syed Ali Geelani was busy issuing boycott call, his own neighbor joined BJP," BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav said while addressing a party function here.
Madhav appealed to the family members of Geelani to join the political mainstream.
"I appeal to his (Geelani's) family members to join political mainstream and celebrate democracy and stand in the same queue in which Omar Abdullah, Narendra Modi are standing," he said.

He said people of Jammu and Kashmir have seen a ray of hope in the new Central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and they want to give BJP a chance to govern the state.
While referring to the party's stand on Article 370, Madhav, without naming it, said the party has not given up its agenda, but would raise it at an appropriate time and at an appropriate platform.

"We are not apologetic, we have not given up on an issue. They will be taken at an appropriate time and appropriate platform," Madhav said.
He said that the Prime Minister wants to develop the state of Jammu and Kashmir so that it becomes the number one tourist destination in Asia.

While attacking the Congress, he said the party has no agenda as it has now raised the issue of a Hindu chief minister for the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
"They don't have an agenda now and they are talking about a Hindu chief minister, but we say let the elected representatives of the state elect the chief minister. Can the PDP and the NC also say that they would allow the legislatures to elect a chief minister from outside the family," Madhav said.