Those killed on July 13, 1931 were arsonists, not martyrs: BJP’s Sunil Sharma

Jammu, Mar 05: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sunil Sharma on Wednesday said those who rebelled against Maharaja Hari Singh’s rule in J&K were anti-nationals, adding that “traitors cannot be called as martyrs.”

Speaking to reporters in Jammu, Sharma, who is the Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly, said martyrs day cannot be celebrated in the name of traitors and anti-nationals. He said July 13 should be remembered in the name of Maqbool Sherwani, Major Somnath Sharma, Brigadier Rajinder Singh and others who rendered their services to the nation and protected J&K from the enemy.

“We are saying it in and outside the assembly and we will continue it that traitors cannot be accorded with the title of martyr,” Sharma said.

He said those killed on July 13, 1931 outside Central Jail Srinagar were arsonists. “I want to tell you today that those killed on July 13 set a Hindu area on fire first, and then started resistance against Maharaja’s rule. These people were made martyrs by the Congress party, but under Narendra Modi rule they cannot be considered as martyrs,” Sharma said.

He also accused the Speaker of acting biased and the representative of a particular party.

Earlier, the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday witnessed uproarious scenes over remarks made by BJP leader Sunil Sharma, who called the July 13 martyrs as “traitors”.

During the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the Lieutenant Governor’s address, Peoples Democratic Party leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra, demanded the restoration of the July 13 Martyrs Day holiday.

As Parra concluded his speech, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma stood up and objected to his demand.

"They were not martyrs but traitors," Sharma said, evoking widespread protests from the Treasury benches as well as from Kashmir-based opposition parties. The leaders demanded that the remarks should be expunged from the records of the House.

"These remarks are humiliating and divisive and should be withdrawn or expunged from the records," demanded MLA Bandipora Nizam-ud-Din Bhat. Amid continuous slogan shouting between the Treasury Benches and BJP, Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather announced that the remarks had been expunged from the records of the House.

Afterwards all the BJP MLAs staged a walkout from the House in protest against the expunging of Sharma's remarks.