The BJP’s diatribe against the Roshni scheme and the Manoj Sinha administration’s eviction of nomads from forest dwellings signal that the party fears a setback in the DDC elections

THE ongoing District Development Council elections in Jammu and Kashmir which have been marred by the detention of political leaders, the onslaught on nomads, and the unidimensional discourse on the Roshni scheme have shed light on the tactics the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre is employing to eliminate any chance of a resurgence of its opponents in the erstwhile Himalayan State, in particular in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley. Recently, Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who represents the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, remarked that “what was witnessed was that all the loot went into the construction of lavish bungalows at Gupkar Road and other VIP locations, whereas the poor neither got the electricity nor the house.” In another statement recently, he reiterated the Narendra Modi government’s commitment “to regaining Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir”. However, long-time political observers of Jammu and Kashmir are of the opinion that the Roshni scheme indeed favoured the political and bureaucratic elites and that “the allegations could be more truth than fiction, though the BJP’s intent and timing smacks of political opportunism”. He told Frontline: “The Modi government maintained that Article 370 hindered empowerment of the people in Jammu and Kashmir as several Central laws could not be extended to the State.