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Karan Singh accuses BJP of distorting facts about Kashmir

Dr Karan Singh, the Congress candidate from Lucknow parliamentary constituency, has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of distorting facts about his role in Jammu and Kashmir and claimed that he had been responsible for bringing the picturesque valley state closer to the rest of the country.

Dr Singh is facing Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the main opponent, and polling takes place in the constituency on October 3.

Talking to newsmen, the former Union minister said, ''It is an incontrovertible historic fact that when I was the head of the state (Sadar-e-Riasat) from 1947 to 1967, all major steps were taken to bring J&K closer to the rest of the country''. These included conversion of the titles of Sadar-e-Riasat to governor, prime minister to chief minister and bringing the state under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission and application of numerous laws to Jammu and Kashmir, he explained.

Dr Singh alleged that the BJP was guilty of compromising the national interest by distorting facts about J&K. The former maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir has continuously been attacked by the BJP leadership for his role in the affairs of Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Karan Singh also denied his role in tabling the report of state autonomy committee of the National Conference government after the last election. ''I was to head the committee but I soon resigned after having realised that their intention was to make a report that would seek to turn the clock back to 1953 in J&K'', he clarified. Subsequently, the committee headed by state cabinet minister Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah tabled the report, he said.

The BJP should clarify its own position as the report was tabled during the its regime and the National Conference was a member of the BJP-led alliance, he added. Dr Singh was also critical of the verbal attack on his father, the late Maharaja Hari Singh. ''The BJP has forgotten that it was due to my father alone that J&K became legally and constitutionally a part of India'', he said.

He denied that he was in any way connected with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, ''whose philosophy represented a narrow and divisive view of Vedanta''. He was associated with the Virat Hindu Samaj, an organisation based on Vedantic principles which enabled him to represent Hinduism at various interfaith meetings around the world.

He claimed that the BJP leadership was raising such issues to divert the attention of the electorate from lack of development in the prime minister's constituency. ''The BJP should talk of issues which are relevant to the constituency instead of showing their nervousness at my nomination'', he added.

UNI

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