BJP drops 'Greater Kashmir' charge, backs J&K reorganisation bill

SRINAGAR: BJP dropped Sunday its earlier “Greater Kashmir” charge and backed a PDP-sponsored territorial reorganisation bill for J&K, while National Conference remained non-committal, calling the proposal a “publicity stunt”.

The proposal by PDP legislator Waheed Parra seeks 16 new districts across J&K and two additional divisions in Jammu. J&K currently has two divisions — Jammu and Kashmir — with 10 districts each.

BJP said the bill should be tabled for debate, flagging objections only to names “Pir Panjal” and “Chenab Valley” for proposed Rajouri–Poonch and Doda–Kishtwar–Ramban divisions.

“There is no harm in creating additional districts and divisions,” BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma said. BJP would push for a third new division combining Udhampur and Reasi, taking the total in Jammu to four, he added.

The shift marks a departure from BJP’s earlier position when spokesperson Altaf Thakur had called the bill a conspiracy aimed at turning J&K into “Greater Kashmir”, stressing what he called Pakistan’s 1990s design.

NC signalled caution. Spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said both Union govt and J&K administration have frozen administrative boundaries till 2027 through a 2025 order. “We support regional empowerment, but any reorganisation must be transparent, data-driven and aligned with census and delimitation,” he said.

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