BJP�s attack on �Gupkar Gang� backfires; party questioned over support to National Conference in Kargil

23-Nov-2020

The Bharatiya Janata Party has found itself in a difficult situation following Union Home Minister Amit Shah's sharp attack against the so-called 'Gupkar Gang'. The party is now being asked to respond to its move to support the National Conference and share power with it in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil (LAHDC-K). The National Conference is part of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), whom Amit Shah had recently referred to as the 'Gupkar Gang'. Shah had attacked the alliance for seeking to restore Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir with the help of "foreign forces" like China and Pakistan. The BJP's local leaders, seeking to defend the party, have called the move a "local arrangement". The news agency quoted BJP leaders as saying that the BJP has been supporting the NC in Ladakh to keep the Congress out of power. This local arrangement has nothing to do with the current situation, they added. The LAHDC-K elections had resulted in no party winning the majority. The National Conference had first taken control of the council by joining hands with the Congress but later formed a coalition with two PDP councillors and four Independents. The PDP councillors later switched sides and joined the BJP, which is how the saffron party became a member of the coalition. However, the BJP's continuance in the arrangement has led to calls for an explanation, in view of the party's sustained attack against members of the PAGD, which includes the NC. "Indian people will no longer tolerate an unholy �global gathbandhan� against our national interest. Either the Gupkar Gang swims along with the national mood or else the people will sink it,� Shah had tweeted recently, taking charge of the party's attack against the PAGD. Ladakh BJP unit chief and Lok Sabha MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal over the weekend defended the party and said its alliance with the National Conference would continue so that a stable administration can be provided and development can continue. �We extended our support to the NC in the interest of the people of Kargil and its development. There is no compromise on ideological basis,� Namgyal was quoted as saying. Namgyal, after visiting Kargil, even asserted that the LAHDC-K would complete its full term of five years.