BJP calls J&K troop reduction hasty

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday called Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement to reduce troops in Jammu and Kashmir 'hasty'.

The argument that the situation in the state has improved considerably is not based on ground reality and the prime minister should review his decision, Jammu and Kashmir state unit chief of BJP Hari Om said. He appealed to the people to oppose the decision 'tooth and nail'.

Om said the way the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the People's Democratic Party and the National Conference have hailed the PM's decision shows they are 'hand-in-glove' in their stand on J&K.

said the Congress had started playing with 'dangerous tools' once again. It was doing so for vote politics and to induce the 'followers of a particular religion' to strengthen its electoral cause, especially in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh -- where its presence is negligible, he added.