New Delhi, Feb 01, 2023, IANS

New Delhi, Feb 1 (IANS) BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Tuesday unfurled the national flag in national capital in the memory of people, who sacrificed their lives for the unity and integrity of the country.

Addressing a massive gathering of people, Chugh paid his tributes to Praja Parishad martyrs in Jaurian village here.

He said it has been a saga of sacrifices that has brought us to this stage where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message of progress and development has started reverberating again.

He asked why it took 70 years for the Congress and its leaders like Rahul Gandhi to hoist the national flag at the Lal Chowk in Srinagar.

Chugh added that Modi's zero tolerance for terrorism has made it possible for Rahul and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to enjoy snowfall in the Kashmir valley.

The BJP National General Secretary was accompanied by former Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, Jammu and Kashmir BJP Vice-President Sham Lal Sharma, senior BJP leader Devender Singh Rana, Daljit Singh Chib and other party leaders in presence of representatives of social organisations and prominent locals.

While paying tributes to martyrs, Chugh said that the struggle to remove Articles 370 and 35-A continued for 70 years.

He added that Jammu and Kashmir has a long history of struggle and movement. The pages of history are full of renunciation, austerity and sacrifice.

"When Sheikh Abdullah implemented the permit system to enter Jammu and Kashmir, the Praja Parishad raised the slogan -- 'Desh mein do pradhan, do vidhan, do nishan: nahi chalenge, nahi chalenge'."

"On January 11, 1953, two days before Lohri, the police opened fire on a procession in which more than 5,000 people were participating. More than 200 rounds were fired in which two people were killed and more than 70 were injured. On January 31, 1953, a huge crowd of protesting farmers gathered in Jyodia village. The farmers came out in huge numbers towards Jammu carrying the tricolour in their hands. The police opened fire on the agitators, in which seven people were killed, to salute whose sacrifice and spirit we all have gathered here," Chugh added.

He also criticised Rahul Gandhi for his party's delay of 70 long years in hoisting the Tiranga at the Lal Chowk.

Chugh added that he (Rahul Gandhi) should be thankful to Modi-led BJP government that he could enter Jammu and Kashmir without permit and hoist the Tiranga at the Lal Chowk without any issue.

Nirmal Singh said that during the agitation, the people registered their protest against separate Constitution, separate flag, separate 'Sadar-e-Riyasat' and the permit System, and the mission got accomplished with the Indian Constitution and the Indian tricolour fully extended to J&K during the BJP government's term.