BJP leaders face trader fury at Jammu fire site: ‘You sit on dharna, why not for us?’

It was meant to be a visit to express sympathy with traders who have incurred massive losses in the Diwali night fire. But a team of BJP legislators, led by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the J&K Legislative Assembly, had to face a peculiar situation when the businessmen at the Warehouse Complex wholesale market here on Monday confronted them for what they termed as the leaders’ “failure to safeguard the interests of the people of Jammu”.

“You always sit on dharna outside Legislative Assembly, but why did you not hold sit-in for those whose livelihood has been snatched on Diwali day?’’ Deepak Gupta, president of the Warehouse Traders Federation, asked LoP Sunil Sharma.

“You will also leave after giving us assurances like the government,” Gupta said.

Earlier in the day, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over large-scale damage to property in the fire incidents in the region and directed the officials to immediately help the affected people.

Commercial establishments and residential houses valued at nearly Rs 100 crore were gutted in fire incidents at more than 60 places during Diwali celebrations across Jammu division.

The Warehouse Complex bore a significant brunt after the fire that broke out in one of the establishments around 9.15 pm soon spread to nearby shops.

The Warehouse Complex is one of the oldest commercial wholesale markets of J&K mainly dealing in foodgrains, edible oil, essential commodities and other items of daily use.

‘Despite Article 370 abrogation…’

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Gupta also invoked Article 370 and claimed that despite it being abrogated “with the support of the people of Jammu”, it is “only they (Jammu residents) who have suffered in the past 12 years’’.

Addressing Sharma, Gupta said, “LoP sahib, when you could not get justice for people whose 29 shops got gutted in the fire at Shiv market, what will you do for us?’’

He was referring to the October 25 fire near the railway station that resulted in losses to the tune of several crores.

Referring to the visit of PDP supremo Mehbooba Mufti, Gupta said she has done her role as an Opposition.

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“You should have held a dharna at the house of the CM … All your (BJP’s) 29 MLAs should have held a sit-in at the CM’s residence to get justice for the 29 shopkeepers whose establishments were reduced to ashes at Shiv Market,’’ Gupta said.

Pointing out that they have no hope from either the government or the Opposition, Gupta said the trader community would help Shiv Market shopkeepers rebuild their lives on their own.

‘Chair is not permanent’

Expressing displeasure that the Warehouse shopkeepers could not get 500 kanals of land for construction of godowns, Gupta, turning to BJP MP Jugal Kishore, said: “Chair is not permanent.”

The other shopkeepers who spoke on the occasion, too, were critical of the functioning of the legislators. The outbursts assume significance coming from people living in areas considered traditional strongholds of the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

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Later, LoP Sharma announced that all 29 BJP MLAs will contribute from their Constituency Development Funds to aid shopkeepers impacted by the fire at the complex, besides pushing the administration to relax rules and allow direct financial assistance to them.

To evaluate the damage, a six-member inspection committee has been formed under MLA Sham Lal Sharma alongside other party leaders.

Other BJP leaders who were part of the visiting delegation were Yudhvir Sethi, Vikram Randhawa and Arvind Gupta – all MLAs from Jammu city and its outskirts – besides the party’s former J&K president, Ravinder Raina.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh expressed shock at the fire at Warehouse Complex and conveyed his sympathy with the affected traders. He appealed to the authorities to take appropriate action and address the situation on priority.