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Violation of human rights in Gujarat
not as serious as in J&K: BJP

The BJP on Friday said that the violation of human rights in Gujarat was not as serious and grave as in Jammu and Kashmir and that the Election Commission should hold elections in Gujarat along with J&K.

Welcoming the EC's announcement of the poll schedule for J&K, BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra wondered why elections cannot be held in Gujarat even though the security situation in that state was far better than that in J&K.

Gujarat was hit by communal violence after a bogie of the Sabarmati Express was set on fire, resulting in the death of 59 persons, in February earlier this year.

He pointed out that the general practice has been that if elections are due in a few states in close succession, they are held simultaneously, with even the counting taken up jointly to avoid any impact of the result in one state on the other.

Accusing the Congress and other opposition parties to adopting double standards by demanding elections in J&K while opposing the same in Gujarat, Malhotra said that the people were the only ones competent to decide on the issue.

Gujarat Elections 2002: The complete coverage

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