BJP draws battle lines at party conclave in Kozhikode

It was less than 48 hours before the BJP national council began that the party decided on coming out with a hard-hitting statement on Uri at its conclave here, compelled by the clamour for a muscular response to Pakistan.

As the BJP got together for a conclave dedicated to its idealogue Deendayal Upadhyay and his philosophy of antyodaya and integral humanism, party president Amit Shah issued a statement laying down the party line, which said Uri was a temporary setback and that it will be a long-drawn battle fought till the finish.

The statement, which came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's combative speech, was ratified by the national council members by raising their hands without any debate. "The battle may be a protracted one; but we shall fight it to the finish. We are confident that our Army will have the final victory," it said.

Shah, who also addressed the meet, said Uri should not be treated as the final outcome, but just as one stage of a continued battle against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

However, unlike Modi, who spoke of being ready for a battle with Pakistan on social issues like poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, Shah left it at a "decisive battle" and giving a "befitting reply".

"Lambi ladai hai jo hum par hamare padosi desh dwara thopi gayee hai. Uri hamla padav matra hai, parinaam nahi. Antim vijay hamari hogi (This is a long fight, foisted upon us by our neighbouring country. The Uri terror attack is but a stage (padav) and not a result. The final victory will be ours.)," said the BJP chief.

BJP sources said that though the conclave was to be dedicated to Upadhyay, it was felt that the party could not be silent on the issue, which had caused a lot of anger. Party leaders then carefully worded the statement, fine-tuning it till the last minute. A day before the statement was to be issued, Modi lashed out at Pakistan and said that the sacrifices of the 18 soldiers at Uri will not go in vain.

Shah, who described Pakistan as a terror hub, said that the Prime Minister has promised that the perpetrators shall not go unpunished. With the party, which has taken a hawkish stand against cross-border terrorism, facing pressure to act tough, Shah said: "If anyone daydreams of taking away Kashmir, they should remember that this is a BJP government and we will not let this happen."

Reiterating that Kashmir was an integral part of India and no one can take it away, he said: "The government is ready to talk to anybody but only with those who consider themselves as Indians and who believe in the Indian constitution," he said.

He said Indian soldiers had foiled 17 attempts of terror attacks and the Uri attack was a result of this frustration.

Shah appealed to the people and all political parties to support the Indian government, as he spoke of Pakistan openly supporting and sponsoring terrorism as a state policy and the militant separatist movement in J&K being a creation of Pakistan.

In line with the PM's speech, he said "terrorism is a big challenge to democracies and the civilised world. It is the biggest violator of human rights. If terrorism becomes the instrument of state policy, it needs to be described as no less than a war crime."

He said the speech of Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif at the UNO, where he openly invoked the names of terrorists, was testimony to the fact that Pakistan is openly advocating terrorism. "Pakistan spends billions of dollars from its budget for funding, equipping and training terrorists on its soil and exporting them into many countries. Thus Pakistan, over the years, has emerged as the global terror hub."